TERRIBLE EXPLOSION IN AMERICA.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2623, 4 May 1889, Page 2 (Supplement)

TERRIBLE EXPLOSION IN AMERICA.

Tiik most appalling catastrophe which has ever visited the town occurred at an early hour on tho morning of the 18th February at Hartford, Connecticut, The scene of tho disaster was the Park Central Hotel, a large brick building five stories high, with a frontage of 30 feet and a depth of 100 feet, A large boiler in the basement exploded about 5 o'clock with a terrific report, which awakened tho whole city. So tremendous was the shock that the hotel itself fell in ruins, while the front of another hotel opposite was blown in at several points, and the windows of all the neighboring houses were shattered. Scarcely had the building fallen than the debris caught fire, and the spectacle became one of unexampled horror. The hotel contained a food many guests, most of thcin persons connected with the theatrical profession and commercial travellers. The sound ofthe explosion brought assistance speedily to the spot. Those who came first found the place enwrapped in blinding clouds of steam and smoke, while flames were bursting forth from the remains of the hotel. Nothing could be done to help the unfortunate people in the midst of tho burning mass until tho fire had been mastered ; and the ruins had to be flooded with water before the work of rescue could be attempted. Within the first hour or so, some few dead and dying who lay near the edge of the debris were brought away, but it was not until 0 o'clock that the rescuers were able to begin their work in earnest. Unhappily by this time tho flames and the smoke had placed many beyond the reach of human aid. Some had perished before the eyes of the powerless and horror stricken crowd. One man, with his wife and little girl, were plainly seen in the midst of the debris, pinned down by some of the wreckage. No help could reach them and they perished. A young woman also was seen struggling to extricate herself from under some heavy timbers, and uttering shrieks which filled all _ hearers with an agony of pity ; but nothing coml be done to help her. When the rescuers at last made their way into the ruiu they found that many of the dead had perished in the same way as the poor people just alluded to, having _ fallen beneath woodwork which was weighed down bybricks and masonry. As evidence of the immense forcc of the explosion, it may be mentioned that a bed was blown far into the street, and a heavy door was carried the distance of an whole block of houses. One New York correspondent states that the section of tbe hotel which was saved was cut of? as smoothly as though by a knife, the dividing line cutting through tho middle of a series of sleeping apartments, all of which were occupied. The hotel clerk was killed, and the register has not been found, so the total number of guests iu the hotel is not accurately known. On Monday it was reported that fifty persons had pershed, but subsequently to this estimate being circulated, several of the persons who lay buried beneath the ruins were brought out alive. Ihese included the proprietor of the hotel, Wellington Keteharn, and his wife, who, however, were so seriously injured that they are not expected to recover. A Mr. Kerrigan and his wife, from Unionville, remained pinned to their bed by timber and dcbrU for three hours before the firemen could extricate them. During all this time a shattered wall was tottering over them, threatening at every moment to fall and crush them. An adjacent storage room was turned into a temporary morgue, and there the dead were taken as fast as found. The excitement proved so great that it was found necessary to call out the States militia to control the crowd. Tony Editinger, with his wife and child, aud Harry Rogers, ofthe "Hoodman Blind," theatrical company, are missing, and are supposed to be among the killed. Mr. W. A Johnson, of New York whose sleeping apartment was severed in twaiD, and who escaped without an injury, says he heard no explosion, but that the shrieks of the women a3 the house went down were beyond description terrible. According to the Times telegram, several of those confined under beams ; in which position they hud remained while water was poured upon them, were rescured almost uninjured. The rescued persons were much exhausted, having been exposed in their night clothe* to the cold. At 2 o'clock a small dog w;is brought out unhurt and showed the liveliest gratitude. The explosion is reported to have been caused by a drunken engineer, who left the boiler with low water, and then returing turned on cold water, thus causing the explosion. The engineer has since been arrested.