15 KNOWN DEAD, 54 INJURED IN ELKTON BLAST.

FIVE BUILDINGS DESTROYED IN EXPLOSION AT TRIUMPH CO.

Elkton, May 5 -- (AP) -- Rescue workers dug today into the charred ruins of five Triumph Explosives, Inc., buildings on the outskirts of this small war boom city seeking additional bodies while investigating officials sought to determine cause of an explosion in which 15 persons are known to have died.
Five of at least 54 persons injured in the explosion that was followed by fire were in serious condition and 19 others were under hospital treatment. Thirty women were given first aid and released.
Even as the wreckage was being cleared, other employes returned to work in other buildings, answering a call of Army, Navy and plant officials to "continue passing the ammunition."
One storage building was blown to bits and another was wrecked by a second explosion within seconds in mid afternoon yesterday. Fire spread to three others, burning many workers severely.
Window panes and plate glass in homes and business establishments were shattered and cracked by the explosion that was heard for miles around. Ambulances, fire equipment, Red Cross units, Civilian Defense workers, State police and others sped to the scene.
An official statement from Army and Navy officers and BENJAMIN F. PEPPER, Triumph president, paid high tribute to naval officers and company employes "who did notable rescue work in utter disregard of their personal safety."
The dead and injured were from many different states, having come here in the heavy influx of defense workers who caused the population of this little Gretna Green, famous all along the Atlantic seaboard, to jump from 3,516 in the 1940 census to an estimated 12,000 now.
The company hospital quickly was filled and the overflow was taken to Elkton's Union Hospital and to churches, in front of which crowds of anxious relatives gathered. Few families here do not have some members engaged in the plant.

Casualty List.
Elkton, May 5 -- (AP) -- The Triumph Explosives, Inc., issued an official casualty list today, 15 dead, and 54 injured in yesterday's blast.
Thirty women employes were released after treatment for minor injuries, and the remaining 24 were confined in two hospitals.
The identified dead:
MAUHEE NIDIFFER, Allentown Hill, W. Va.
SUSAN ROLLI, Eynon, Pa.
CHARLES MILLMAN, Camden, Del.
DELLA TRUMAN, Cedar Grove, W. Va.
ELLIS SIMMONS, Elkton.
IVA YOUNG, Ward, W. Va.
WILSON WANNER, Elkton.
MRS. HIRLEY GALMORE, Coatesville, Pa.
CHRISTINE ERBY, Raleigh, N.C.
GILBERT POORE, Warwick, Md.
HARRY RIAS, Dover, Del.
CHESTER WHALEY, Wilmington, Del.
MELVIN COLE, Still Pond, Md.
Three Men were not fully identified and the company withheld names.
Condition of the 24 hospitalized was announced, but injuries were not given. They were:
OLLIE MAY QUINN, Newark, Del., condition good.
WILLIAM D. ELLISSON, no address, fair.
Both in Elkton Hospital.
In Company Hospital:
ROSE GUNTHER, Wilmington, improved.
MILLIE MARKOFSKY, West Nanticoke, Pa., serious.
MAMIE PINKNEY, Millington, Md., good.
MARIE FOREMAN, Marcus Hook, Pa., fair.
EVA MARTIN, Chester, Pa., fair.
EMILY RINGOLD, Sassafras, Md., fair.
INEZ COOKS, Coatesville, Pa., fair.
JOHN REDDEN, Grand View, W. Va., serious.
GEORGE ULARY, North East, Md., serious.
FLETCHER HARRIS, Chestertown, Md., good.
ROBERT JOHNSON, Elkton, good.
ROBERT NICHOLS, no address, good.
JOHN W. WILLIAMS, Price, Md., serious.
MARION JOHNSON, Harrington, Del., good.
VICTORIA BECKWITH, North East, Md., fair.
MARY ALICE BAKER, Wilmington, fair.
TERESA HARDING, Newark, Del., good.
EVELYN JACKSON, New Castle, Del., good.
BIRDIE GILBERT, Worton, Md., good.
HELEN SATTERFIELD, Wilmington, good.
CORINE WOODS, Wilmington, serious.
ANNA PETERSON, Chester, Pa., fair.

The Salisbury Times Maryland 1943-05-05
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!