Many Canal Workers Killed

An explosion of a twenty-five ton dynamite blast at Bas Obispo kills fourteen crew members who were building the Panama Canal.

The explosion at Bas Obispo of a twenty five-ton dynamite blast was the most serious accident in connection with the building of the Panama canal since the United States took control. The dead now total fourteen. That many bodies have been recovered, but it is believed that a score or more are still under the masses or rocks and earth that were thrown up. The death list would have been appalling had a train conveying 500 laborers, passed a few minutes later. This train steamed through the cut and was barely out of view when the explosion occurred. For a distance of 800 feet in length and 400 feet in width the Bas Obispo cut present a graphic picture of the terrible effect of the explosion. The whole hillside had been devastated, the dynamite rending the earth in twain and tossing huge boulders in all directions. A ninety-ton steam shovel lies a complete wreck, crushed under the weight of falling rocks. Every one of the crew was killed. All the tracks in this section were torn to pieces and are now covered with tons of debris. Hundreds of men are on the scene working heroically to find the bodies of their dead comrades. Many evidences are come across of the terrible force of the blast, as here and there pieces of human flesh and bone are turned over with pick or shovel. The charge consisted of fifty-one holes, sixty feet deep and spread out over a large section of territory. The last hole was being charged by John J. Reidy, and experienced powderman, when it exploded. The others were exploded by the concussion. Reidy was blown to pieces.

“Many Canal Workers Killed,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed December 7, 2025, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/1085.