Sacramento Daily Record Union

DEAD AND DYING.

Hundreds Lost Their Lives in the Antwerp Explosion.

Antwerp, September 7th.-The fire is still raging, all efforts of the firemen, assisted by the military and populace, to quell it have so far proved unavailing. The docks and shipping are untouched by the flames, as the direction of the wind has been toward the town continuously. A judicial inquiry has been ordered. The scene is a sickening one. The dead will exceed 250 and the injured 1,200. The loss in property cannot be estimated. The oil, it is expected, will continue to burn at least until Monday. At the moment of the explosion many workmen jumped into the river Scheldt and were drowned. A number of sailors and customs officers were killed on board the ships by flying bullets, and the ships were riddled by the missiles.

It is estimated that 2,000 tons of cartridges exploded. The noise was heard for thirty miles. The smoke which filled the air was greater than that of a great battle. Human heads and other parts of bodies were found half a mile away.

One hundred and thirty whole corpses lie in the morgues. Charred heaps of human remains represent the unknown number of dead. The populace watched the flames all night. The noise of the exploding barrels of oil and the falling ruins exactly resembled the sounds of a battle.

Those who have been deprived of their homes by the fire, encamped upon the river banks.

The water works, which cost $400,000, are three parts destroyed.

Later-It is now estimated that the number of deaths by yesterday's disaster will not exceed 160; 250 persons are seriously and 300 slightly injured.

The firemen and troops worked through the entire night on hourly shifts. Many succumbed to the heat and smoke and had to be conveyed to the hospitals on stretchers. All the workers have blackened faces and bear evidences of the sickening effects of the dense smoke which clogged their efforts.

Work is now entirely confined to keeping the fire from spreading beyond the sheds and factories within the dry dock.

The wind continues favorable. Six million litres of petroleum are in flames.

The Minister of the Interior has visited the scene of the explosion. The King and Queen have telegraphed expressing sympathy with the sufferers. Subscriptions have been opened for the relief of those rendered destitute by the disaster.