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Las Yegas Morning Sun, April 6, 1954 T w i s t e d W R E C K A G E R E M A IN S — a 140-foot w ater tow er being constructed in the U nion Pacific yards, already 110 feet in the air, is shown at le ft before yesterday’s fatal accident that took the life o f 87-year-old'H arold Gentis, o f Compton, C alif., and in ju red tw o others. A winch hoisting tw o m en and a gird er to the top o f the tow er failed, and the w reckage at the righ t w as the outcome. The once stately w ater tow er lies a heap o f twisted m etal follow in g the accident that sent the 55 tons o f steel crashing to the ground. Gentis w as pinned underneath the w reckage, and C. J. R usher fe ll m ore than 70 feet to the ground. H e is in serious condition to Southern N evada M em orial hospital. Lack of Inspection Disclosed On Collapsed Railroad Water Tower Investigation into the freak accident th a t! sent 55 tons o f steel used to the construction o f a 110-foot w ater tow er to the U nion Pacific yards hurtlin g to the ground, crushing 87-year-old H arold Gentis, to death and in ju rin g tw o others, w ill continue today as a L os A ngeles Union official and the dead m an’s w idow w ere scheduled to arrive to L a s Vegas. ------ '------ i. City officials w ere looking into the matter from a legal point of view, when it was discovered by the building department yesterday that no building perm it had been taken out for the construction work. F- (S U N F O T O S ) j Dungey went out o f control and al-lowed a girder on which both Rush-er and Gentis were riding, to fall. Both Gentis and Rusher fell more than 70 feet to the ground, amid the twisted wreckage of the water tower. Dungey was knocked ap-, proximately 60-feet by the flying, handle,of the winch, which was spinning free. The tower was bemg erected to support a 300,000 gallon water tank for use in the Union Pacific yards. Sheckells said three men were attempting to hoist the girder up into position on the 110-foot tower for installation when the accident occurred. Gentis, who was killed instantly when the huge mass of steel lit on Ui pauuetd j s a g " -auioq uiooj -paq om j lljn q Xjjinnb Atajj Building department officials also said that no inspections had been made on the tower to see that the work had been properly 7JOXTV3H gey, 4g, of Lomita, Calif. Rusher is suffering from multiple fractures o f an arm, leg, and hip, and serious internal injuries, hospi­tal officials said. Clifford F . Sheckells, construc­tion superintendent for the Darby Corporation of Kansas City, Mo., said the accident apparently oc­curred when a winch operated by (Continued on P *ge IS)