DISASTROUS EXPLOSION OF DYNAMITE.

Globe, Volume VI, Issue 686, 31 August 1876, Page 3

DISASTROUS EXPLOSION OF DYNAMITE.

(Scotsman, June 24.) A frightful explosion of dynamite occurred at Burnbank, near Hamilton, on Monday, by which at least seven persons lost their lives, and one has been so seriously injured that no hopes are entertained of his recovery. The circumstances attending the sad calamity are shrouded in mystery, the persons who alone could have furnished any information being killed, and the cause of the explosion is therefore only imperfectly conjectured. The scene of the accident was a joiner's shop ar.d smithy, the property of Messrs Charles Brand and Sons, situated at Burnbank. Messrs Brand are acting as contractors for a portion of the Glasgow, t ßothwell, and Hamilton railway, now in course of construction. To fix more minutely the locality, it may be stated that the workshop stood on the south side of the Glasgow and Hamilton turnpike road, a few yards 'to the west of what is known as Shaw's burn. The workshop was entirely constrncted of wood, about 60ft long by 20ft broad. The joiners' shop occupied about three-fourths of the length, and was divided from the smithy by a thin partition. On the east side of the workshop were the stables for the horses used on the railway, separated by a roadway of about 12ft wide. At the southwest corner a two-storey dwellinghonse stood from 50ft to 60ft distant. The erection was of course merely a temporary one, built for the convenience of tbe workmen. There seems to have been about six men constantly employed in the workshop, and that number were evidently engaged at their usual occupations on Monday morning, four of them being in the smithy, and two in the joiners' de partment. A policeman named M'Call, who was principally engaged in connection with the railway operations, also happened to be in the joiners' shop, having made an appointment to meet a fellow constable at the place about a quarter to twelve o'clock. The' men were engaged in their usual occupations on Monday, and all seems to have gone as usual till half-past 11, when a terrific explosion occurred, levelling the workshop to the ground, killing the occupants, with one exception, and damaging considerably the sur-

rounding buildingß. The noise of the explosion was heard over a wide district, and the workmen who were engaged on the railway close at hand rushed at once to the place. A terrible sight presented itself on their arrival. Nothing was to be seen of the workshop but the shattered woodwork, while the bodies of six men lay among the ruins, some of them bleeding freely from the head and face, and one of them, the constable, being reduced to a shapeless mass, unrecognisable even as a human being. Only one of the bodies, that of a hammerman named Livingston, showed the faintest signs of life. To the workers who had congregated at the scene of the catastrophe, attracted by the loud report, the mass of rubbish aud destruction of life were totally inexplicable, but an examination of the place leaves no doubt as to the cause of the calamity. Two boxes of dynamite, partly full, were found among the rubbish, and it has been ascertained that in all some 801 b or 1031 b of this material had been stored on the premises. After deducting what was untouched, thisi leaves about 301 b that must have exploded. The questions naturally arise, how was the dynamite stored in the workshop, and what caused the explosion ? To these queries do definite answer can be given, and it is doubtful if ever anything will be elicited which will throw light upon the second point. It seems that about two or three months ago a leakage was discovered in the dynamite magazine, which is situated quite near the scene of the disaster. Orders were given that the dynamite should be taken out, the place repaired, and the explosive replaced. One theory is that a portion of the dynamite then damaged was removed to the workshop, and thai it had never been r>s turned to the magazine, while another is that dynamite damaged at one of the cuttings was stored in the joiner's shop. The person who states this alleges that a considerable quantity of the dynamite used for blasting at a cutting close by was so much injured with wet and mud that it would not explode, though repeatedly tried wth the detonator, and that he assisted in carrying

some of it to the workshop as useless, at least until it was dried. It is right to mention that the contractors deny all knowledge of dynamite having been stored in a workshop, and state that its being there was a direct violation of their instructions to the operatives. The general ignorance of the presence of dynamite in the smithy or joiner's shop is also borne out by a policeman, who was in the habit of visiting the place regularly, for be had never heard mention of such a thing during any of) his visits, Though the report of the explosion was very loud, the effects—and this is one of the characteristics of dynamite—were purely local, being almost confined to a radius of 100 yards. The nearest stable was much damaged, the wall next the smithy being entirely shattered, and the roof a complete wreck. Two horses were in the stalls, and one of the men was engaged doing some work inside the stable, when the explosion occurred, but neither the man nor the horses were injured, beyond a few slight bruises About ten yards further to the east, or town side of this stable, was another rarge of one-story buildings, but the damage done to them was very trifling, though a number of panes of glass in Shawbiun-houaa, which is

distant from the seene of the explosion about 300 yards, were smashed and the doors b nst open. The two-story dwellinghouse situated at the south-east corner was very much injured, every window in the house being forced out, and the ceiling broken. One of the occupants, a woman, was outside at the time, and she was struck on the cheek by a piece of wood, and knocked down with the force of the concussion. Beyond this, however, the damage was not at all serious, were tt not the sad loss of life.