Tank's Poetry
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united states mine rescue association
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Tank's Poetry |
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(From Bureau of Mines report, by W. J. Fene and L. L. Naus) At 3:30 a.m. 23 men were in the mine, when a local explosion caused the death of 8 and injury by burns to 4 others, the rest escaping uninjured. Three of the injured were assisted out of the mine by the night foreman, and the other injured man was rescued 4 hours later. The explosion, confined to 4 or 5 rooms, was not violent and did almost no damage to the mine. A cable-reel locomotive was being coupled to loaded cars at the face of a room, when the motorman saw flame burst from the resistance coils, followed by an explosion. He was thrown about 10 feet but was able to walk out with 2 miners from an adjacent room.
Gas from falls in several rooms beyond the point of origin had collected and was not detected by the foreman. Coal dust was ignited but did not cause propagation. Some of the victims might have been saved if apparatus crews had been available to reach them promptly. Successful Rescue After an undisclosed period, the bodies of eight men, six of whom were Negroes, were recovered. R. L. Meadows, one of the injured men, was found lying with the dead. He was considered by physicians to have a chance for recovery. Blast That Killed Eight Being Probed Charleston Daily Mail, West Virginia January 20, 1930 The bodies of the eight men, six of whom were Negroes, were recovered yesterday. R. L. Meadows, one of the injured men found lying with the dead, today was considered by physicians to have a chance for recovery. Yesterday it was believed that his chance for life was slight. The blast was described by J. B. Clifton, president of the company, as local in character, occurring far back in the mine. Miners 300 feet away reported that they scarcely heard it. The explosion was believed by company officials to have been caused when a fall of slate released a gas pocket. Six of the dead were Negroes. Company officials said they believed the explosion was caused by a fall of slate opening a pocket of gas. Investigation got under way today. Those killed were:
Their bodies were badly burned in addition to being mutilated by the force of the blast, and rescue workers said they had been killed instantly. All of the men killed were named in a group insurance policy recently obtained by the LillyBrook Coal Company for all of its employees. Under the policy, the life of each employee is insured for the sum of $1,000, company officials said. In addition to carrying the group insurance policy, the company is a subscriber to the state workmen's compensation fund. Ice covered roads hampered rescue workers in reaching the mine. The first rescue teams to arrive were those from Glen White, Stotesbury, and Glen Rogers. Other teams arrived later. Work of the rescue workers was directed by W. D. Lee, mine inspector from Welch, and Everett Stover, of Ameagle, appointed a week ago as a district mine inspector. Rescue equipment in addition to that provided by the crews, was supplied by Stover, who drove a Department of Mines rescue car to Lillybrook from Welch. "It came so sudden," Ritter said in a hospital here. "I hardly knew what caused it. There were two flashes that seemed to last about a minute. The other two men started down toward some old workings in the mine. I yelled to them to come back and follow the rail out. The air was bad but when we got to the entry it was better but still seemed to be mighty dusty. The three of us then came out of the mine on the motor with the night boss. He wanted to get help and get us treatment." Ritter's companions were Ben James and James Leadbetter, both Negroes. All were seriously burned. |
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