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united states mine rescue association
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As a man named Smith was going into the mine, the superintendent cautioned him about going into a certain room, as it contained fire-damp, but as that was dry, while around the track it was filled with water, Smith disobeyed orders and attempted to pass through the room with a lighted lamp in his hat. Immediately a terrific explosion occurred, while a hole was blown through fifteen feet of earth, composing the roof, and carrying death and destruction all around. About twenty men were in the mine, six of whom were killed outright, and a number dangerously wounded. A mule and a train of eight cars were shot out of the main entrance as if from a cannon. Another mule drawing a cart in which a man was seated was blown on top of the cart, killing the driver. A dog was also blown out of the mine. One man, Jackson Lech, just entering, was blown back and over a high railroad embankment into a creek below and badly hurt. The men not disabled or killed escaped through a shaft to the open air. The killed are:
The wounded are:
Fifteen men and one boy were in the mine at the time of the accident. Eight escaped at a side shaft. A boy who was entering the mine at the time was hurled forty feet and shockingly mangled. |
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Terrible Mine Accident
