 firedamp existed in a large portion of the advanced workings. The explosion could be transmitted by the coal dust suspended in the atmosphere by the concussion from the initial explosion, the flame exploding the accumulations of firedamp and dust along the path of the explosion, carrying death and destruction into every region of the workings.
The fireboss did examine part of the mine; his last report
was made on January 23. Insufficiency of ventilation was partly
due to accumulation of ice at the airshaft.
|A makeshift morgue was setup in the railyard outside near
the Harwick Mine tipple as rescue workers recovered the bodies of the miners
killed in the explosion. Friends and relatives of the miners came to
identify their remains.
(Photo courtesy of Allegheny Kiski Valley Historical Society, Tarentum, Pa.)
|The mass grave for many of the miners killed in the Harwick
Mine disaster, on the west bank of the Allegheny River, adjacent old St.
Mark's Lutheran Church, Springdale, Pa.
In Memory of the Harwick Miners Erected May 30, 1905 Subscribed by Members of Local Unions of District No. 5 United Mine Workers of America in memory of 180 miners & mine laborers, who lost their lives in the Harwick Explosion Jan. 25, 1904.
(Photo courtesy of Allegheny Kiski Valley Historical Society, Tarentum, Pa.)
|TWO HUNDRED MEN
Imprisoned at Bottom of a Burning Coal Mine.
EXPLOSION BRINGS DISASTER
Rescue Parties Are Making Desperate Efforts to Extricate the Men With Little Hope of Success Believe All Will Perish.
PITTSBURG, Pa., Jan 25, 1904
Between 125 and 150 men were entombed by an explosion in the shaft of the Harwick Coal company near Cheswick this morning, shortly after 8 o'clock. None of the men had been rescued at 11 o'clock and it is believed that many of them were wither killed outright by the explosion or have been suffocated by the gas. Several hundred men are at work trying to liberate the imprisoned miners. There are employed at the mine 200 men, 150 working inside and the remainder on the tipple. Three men on the tipple were badly burned by the explosion.
Escape Is Shut Off.
With a loud report and an upheaval like an earthquake the woodwork of the tipple was destroyed. The shaft was filled with debris, rocks and earth completely shutting off all means of escape from the mine. Whether the explosion occurred at the far extremity of the mine and killed the men by the concussion, or whether it occurred nearer the shaft, and imprisoned the men, is not yet known.
They Fear the Worst.
There has been no way as yet of finding the exact nature of the disaster or the number who were killed. If the mine entrance cannot be quickly cleared out so the men can get fresh air all will have perished within a few hours. Help was summoned from all sources available and as many are engaged in the work of rescue as can be crowded in. Half a dozen men working near the mouth of the pit on the tipple were caught in the wreckage and at least three were seriously injured. One man, it is thought, cannot recover.
Aid Quickly Sent.
Superintendent GEORGE SHEETS immediately sent to Cheswich and Springdale for men and other assistance. Gangs of workmen were sent in response and physicians hurried to the scene to take care of the injured. The mine is about one mile from Cheswich and was opened about two years ago. The company is allied with the Allegheny Coal company and is operated by Cleveland capitalists. The mine has always been a gaseous one, but there has never been any serious trouble previous today. There are two shafts, 200 feet apart and about 220 feet deep. In the inside of the mine the headings had not been made more than half a mile.
Number Entombed Grows.
A later report says the number of men entombed is larger than at first reported, it now being said that from 150 to 180 men are in the mine, including a fire boss and the pit boss. Just how the explosion occurred is not yet known. Intense excitement was aroused in Cheswick and Springdale. The three injured tipple men were sent to Allegheny hospital on train, one of the three were brought to the 