GAS EXPLOSION

Southland Times, Issue 20675, 22 December 1928, Page 7

GAS EXPLOSION

LONDON SHAKEN PEDESTRIANS FLUNG INTO AIR ROADWAY TORN UP ' MIRACULOUS ESCAPES (United Press Assn.—By Telegraph—Copyright.) London, December 20. An extraordinary gas explosion occurred at High Holburn at eight o’clock this morning when business men and women coming into the city saw half a mile of roadway torn up and the kerbstones lifted like feathers. Pedestrians were also flung into the air, a horse was killed and a taxicab overturned, while a number of manholes exploded with a noise resembling exploding bombs. Several post office workmen were seen lying in the ruins of a manhole which was ablaze when the explosion ended. The fire brigade and ambulance were quickly on the spot, and the men were removed to hospital. It is astonishing that the loss of life was not serious. People were blown out of their beds in the neighbourhood. There were no fatalities, though there were many miraculous escapes. Overcome By Fumes. The gas covered a wide area which the police cleared. Several people on the outskirts were overcome by the fumes and were taken to hospital. The underground railway was not affected. The police had great difficulty in clearing the streets of people who believed that the underground had blown up. The accident apparently originated through workmen with a blowing machine laying cables. Deep fissures ran the whole way along the line. Huge craters were blown in the roadway. Ton blocks of solid concrete were hurled aside and shops damaged. Parts of the roadway dropped several feet at one point. The gas is still afire. A water main burst, flooding many basements. It appears that a linesman descended a manhole to connect a blower with a switch. A few minutes later a sheet of flame rushed up. The man managed to scramble out with his trousers afire, but he was terribly burnt. ' ’ Services Dislocated. Britain has not known anything to equal the explosion and a district a mile long and half a mile wide is deprived of every public service for some weeks. The dislocation of traffic is the worst in London's history. Business is at a standstill. The repairs will cost £50,000. Seventeen victims have been taken to hospital. A manhole cover weighing four hundredweight was thrown into the air and crashed through the roof of a three-storey house and came to rest on a bed on fche first floor. A torrent of fire roared 50 feet into the air from a crater in High street, while a fissure several hundred yards long also spouted Press Association. FIRE BRIGADES STANDING BY. (Rec. 5.5 p.mJ London, December 21. Late to-night flames six feet high were still coming from portions of the roadway. Fire engines are standing by at most of the entrances to the affected area and are prepared for an emergency. The Prince’s Theatre had to close. Many residents fearing a renewal of the fire sleft elsewhere. — Australian Press Association.