GAS EXPLOSION

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 16 November 1927, Page 5

GAS EXPLOSION

THE PITTSBURG DISASTER AT LEAST 1 50 PERSONS STILL MISSING. THOSE IN HOSPITAL IN SERIOUS CONDITION. ißy Cable —Press Assn. —Copyright.) (Received 16, 11.15 a.m.) New York, Nov. 15. A message from Pittsburg says that 24 hours after the explosion the authorities are still unable to estimate the total number killed because many bodies are believed to be buried beneath the ruins of the gas tank and an adjacent clay pot plant. The wreckers are still removing the tangled steel debris from both and pumping 16 feet of Water from the flooded basement of the latter.

Officials declared it will be impossible to compile a complete list until this work is finished, but the rescuers have already reported seeing the bodies of 23 men in the water under the ruins of the clay pot plant. Ninety-five men, women and children remain in hospitals, mostly in a serious condition. At least 50 persons ar stiH missing. DEATH ROLL INCREASES. HAZARDOUS RESCUE WORK. New York, Nov. 14. The death roll in the Pittsburg gasometer explosion is now 28, with from 300 to 500’injured. The damage is estimated at 5,000,000 dollars. With nightfall temporary morgues were set up near the scene. Army tractors were called in to help raze the walls. Rescue work was hazardous because of th e possibility of torches igniting the gaseous ruins. An eye-witness who was working a quarter of a mile from the scene said ho heard an explosion and then saw a great ball of fire 100 feet in diameter rise from the tank into the air, Motorists across the Ohio river, riding in glass enclosed cars, felt the heat of the fireball through tho car doors. An eye-witness said: "We couldn’t see a whole man anywhere.” A man in an office 25 storeys high, across the street, said he felt the building sway as if in an earthquake. Broken water mains flooded the streets, making the area inaccessible. More than 400 injured were treated in hospitals. Legislation is proposed to prohibit gas tanks being erected within the city limits.—(A. and N.Z.)