Big Stone Gap, VA Explosion In Coal Mine, Aug 1934
9 KNOWN DEAD IN BLAST.
TRAPPED BY EXPLOSION OF FLAMES, FUMES.
VIRGINIA COAL PIT SCENE OF TRAGEDY -- 75 MEN ESCAPE.
Big Stone Gap, Va., Aug. 6 -- The known death toll from an explosion this morning in the Dreby Number 3 mine of the Stonega Coke and Coal company stood at nine at noon today.
Two men had been brought out alive and were taken to the Stonega hospital for treatment. Several other bodies were believed to be still in the mine. Seventy-five workers escaped after the explosion occurred at 7 o'clock this morning by use of an abandoned entry.
The known dead were:
RALPH BURCHILL, general mine foreman.
Rescue Two Alive.
Before these bodies had been recovered, LAWRENCE FLEENER and WALTER BAYLESS were brought out alive and were taken to the Stonega hospital for treatment. Artificial respiration was resorted to in vain efforts to save some of the others. How many bodies remained in the mine and the names of the men could not be learned immediately.
Rescue Work Slow.
Rescue work was slow because of the necessity of carrying in fresh air to blow out the still lingering fumes of deadly carbon monoxide. No theory was advanced as to the cause of the explosion.
75 Men Escape.
Big Stone Gap, Va., Aug. 6 -- Ten men are unaccounted for in a small section of the Derby Number Three mine of the Stonega Coke and Coal company where a gas explosion occurred at about 7 o'clock this morning. Approximately 75 men working in another section of the mine escaped through an abandoned entry.
A rescue team was immediately set to work and during the forenoon was slowly working its way into the mine.
The exact location of the ten trapped men was not known.
The News-Palladium Benton Harbor Michigan 1934-08-06