TERRIBLE COLLIERY DISASTER.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2254, 14 September 1914, Page 7

TERRIBLE COLLIERY DISASTER.

(By Telegraph.—Press Association.)

, Auckland, September 13. 1 ;s©wb was.-.'received ill Auckland, early /esterday-' morning of a serious colliery' disaster at Huntly at 7.20 a.m. The residents 'of the township were startled by a ■ rumbling noiso, followed by the; sound'of an explosion from the'mouth . of Ralph's mine; which adjoins the railway station. Great volumes of smoke burst forth, and for some considerable timo it was impossible for-the rescue .parties to proceed below. Fifty-Two Men' Below. . - Fifty-two men were below when the explosion-occurred. Nine managed to roach the surface up. the main shaft, • and eleven were rescued at the "Taupiri' West shaft. - ' Most ,of those rescued are 'badly burned, and three man were so severely injured "that they had tobe conveyed; by train to Hamilton Hospital. -There were-many sad scenes at the pithead.'. . 'All the townspeople - and hundreds of miners .thronged tho vicinity. ' .- •For. some time the rescue _ parties could .not get as far as the main-shaft, .. but two . parties went down into, the mine, one by' the-main shaft and the "other by the' -Taupiri . West; shaft,. Some difficulty is evidently .being experienced in obtaining , the names of the.. men entombed. Being pay-day, Saturday is not an ordinary working day i in the mine, and the names of the men below were in possession of . the actingmanager (Mr. Gowan) and his deputies, . .who are amongst the; men missing. : . Force of the Explosion. ■. A few minutes after the explosion occurred; a party of five,'working-in tho ■ vicinity of-the shaft at the bottom, came up, : badly burned. The condition of. one man was very serious,'and ho. with two others, was sent immediately ■ to. the Hamilton Hospital. "So great w.as the'force of the explosion ; that the' cage resting at the bottom of, tho shaft was blown up to the surface, and the buildings all around were shaken. Fortunately; .the winding gear was. not damaged,. and as one of the cages' rose tho other.: descended. Those working • immediately .'at .the- foot of the shaft were in this way able to reach the'surface, altogether eight or nine men com"ing lip. within tho first half-hour. Fortunately there is another outlet . from, Ralph's Mine. . For aconsider- • able/distance workings run under tho 1 river.' in the direction' of Taupiri, and . the. further outlet exists 'at what is known as the Taupiri West shaft, tho best paTt of. a mile away from tliO'.main' .shaft. From this .outlet eleven, men. ' had. during the morning, made, j their. <ss-. cape; ;but , up. . bhe_ main l "shaft, had no 'tidings of., the; 'main body of men entombed. ' Terrible Injuries, : . . v When'the first" half-do2ten men to escape from the shaft- at' the bottom- ... reached the surface, willing hands rush- , ■ .?d; to -their- assistance. -The three man ... most injured were - [;v . . Alfred Parkham. John Jackson. Alexander. Izatt. tThey presented a terrible sight. Their heads and arms were a mass of seared flesh, and they were begrimed with coal . dust,.Th«. injured .'men were attended "" to'by three local-doctors, .and then sent .'. on by,goods train to the Hamilton Hos--1 pital. / ■ . For a while, the crowd .despaired of . any chance of. getting men below to at- .: temnt . tho rescuo work.' Dense' i .smoke, continued to belch forth, and ' th'o chances of success seemed very re- . mote indeed. Ultimately, however, Messrs. Wood and Weir, two of the company's officials, led a rescue party into the main shaft, and as they went below wero cheered by a largo crowd at the pit head, at which wore.gathered anxious wives and children of tho misi ■ ing men. • ... ' Mr. Weir returned to tho surface and organised a further relief gang, which at- once proceeded to the Taupiri West shaft, and entered the mine at that end. Relief parties were, at . work throughout the afternoon, and several bodies were recovered. ' The first two wero believed to' he those of: William Kelly and William Burt. The third body, recovered wasi ' that of John Whorskey, a deputy manager; Later, it was reported that five more bodies had been recovered, but this report as yet lacks confirmation." / The ladies, clergy,. and police of Huntly have rendered valuablo assistance by keeping the rescue parties supplied' with hovril and coffee. A faint cheer, went up at West Taupiri at 5 o'clock, when one of the entombed men, William Brocklebank, aged 27, a single man, was brought safely to the surfaco. The rescued man was ablo to walk from tho cage, and after being warmly welcomed by his anxious friends; was taken to Huntly in a motor-car. Bsocklebank's Story. ■ Brocklebank was interviewed at his paronts' residence by a reporter. He said he had sustained minor injuries to his head and hands, but his condition waf not sufficiently serious to necessitate tho attention of tho doctor. Relating his trying experience, 110 said that at the timo of tho accident lie was moving along No. 7 level to Arthur . Ruston. There was an awful blast of wind, and ho was struck on the head by a piece of flying coal. For. half an hour he was endeavouring to feel his way in utter darkness, and during that timo ho and Ruston wero speaking to each other. Ruston's voice, however, seemed to get farther and farther away, and that was all he remembered, until he regained consciousness,; late in the afternoon. When he revived he commenced to call, and went over to what he took to bo a body. This he attempted to carry, but had to givo up the effort. After crawling for about 200 or 300 yards, lie heard the voices of some approaching men. Ho hailed them, and in reply they asked who-he was. Tlio party, headed by Constable Wright, joyfully took chargo of him. Some of them assisted him up tlio shaft, and others went in the direction he indicated as being where Ruston probably lay. He (lid not know what Became of the party afterwards. , . Tri answer to questions, the rcscucd man said that when 110 recovered consciousness the air seemed to lie very much improved, and by tho time he. Tcached the rescue party it was excellent. For those reasons lie thought there might bo hope for the others—a*, least, some of them. Flc added that, his family was naturally rejoiced to get ■him back, but his father was still in the mine. No further word has been received from Huntly to-day, and it is .therefore impossible to estimate tho Joss of life or the oxact uosition at the

EXPLOSION AT HUNTLY. IHINEBS ENTOMBED. PITIFUL SCENES AT PIT-HEAD. HEAVY DEATH ROLL. 1 THRILLING STORIES BY SURVIVORS.

OTHER ACCOUNTS.

present moment.' The exact, figures should be available for a midnight message. . ' . Later. Tho very latest advice received, in Auckland from Huntly up to the time of the closing of tho telegraph office this evening (Sunday), at's.3o p.m., gives a total of twenty-one bodies recovered from tlio Ralph's colliery. - ■ Twenty-one , miners were brought to the surface alive yesterday, including 9 from tho station shaft, IX from tho west shaft, and one, William Brocklebank, ' from the same shaft. ; Twenty-fcur are still entombed. Seven bodies ; were recovered from the west shaft, and brought over to th<) township-last night. They are: — ■ ' John Skellern, deputy, married. Harry Peckham, deputy, married. John Whorskoy, deputy, married. Samuel Jackson, shiftman, married. William Burt', shiftman, married. John Robinson, shiftman, married. -William Hinchco, shiftman, married. Four more bodies were brought oi'er from Taupiri West at-1 a.m. to-day, as follow: — : . Jifs. Holden, deputy, married. . Robt. Munsey, shiftman, single. C. Maloney, trucker, single. ' William Slavin, trucker, single. . Another' body was recovered from Ralph's shaft, that of Jacob Thompson, aged 17. ■ • -.■> Relief parties are working .< day and night, • and fresh, men have gone down this morning. No. hope is held out for the twentyfour men,still to be accounted for. v RESCUERS AT WORK. SCENE AT- THE SHAFT BOTTOM. ■INDESCRIBABLE DEVASTATION. r. : ': Huntly, September 12.' Tho first rescue party that entered the mine head returned, unable to force more thaii a few hundred yards. : • Its members stated that the scene in the vicinity of. the foot of the shaft is one of devastation, skepsj steel ropes, and rails being scattered in. all directions, .while two horses in 0110 of tho stables are completely ihcincrated. : There was almost 1 , an entire absence of air, and very little hopo is enter-tained-for the remainder of the men entombed. : A large>arty of men is engaged making brattices of sacks for the purpose of introducing and directing air into tho mine. ■ . " : : Another party 'descended at 3 o'clock with a pump and hose to try and extinguisher reduce the fire, among these being Inspector 'Bennie; c Government Insnector 'bf 'Mines. • , As "first rescuing party was preparing to . leave met eleven men who had .groped ..their way. without lights to'the west end, one and'a'quarter ' miles '. away, which they ' reached safely, none being injured in any way. ■ These men' stated that the roads were all blocked, which would prevent tho mine being Worked from the Huntly side, while the mine , was on fire in two places. On their way out they came across a horse which had made its way from the underground stables. This was looked upon as a- good augury for tho remainder of the men entombed. ; .THRILLING EXPERIENCE. WHAT BEFELL SOME OF THE SURVIVORS. ' The rescued miners from Ralph's mine at Huntly state that they were proceeding down a- little dip, where it is supposed tlie explosion occurred, when they felt a terrific blast of wind ill their faces, and were, forced to lie against the wall for several minutes. / M'Gill and Brownlee (two of the survivors) heard caljs from, Mottran. They found his arm was injured, and assisted him to tho cage, where Constable Wright was waiting to take them up. ■ Tallcn, another survivor, said that he could not make out what had happened. . . He_ did not realise it was anytbing serious, and kept 011 his way. He met a party of men, who explained that he had better get out quick. He with the rest of the party hurried to the top of Taupiri AVest shaft, and escaped. He is still in a stunned condition, and unable to give a connected account of lii& experience. Two Horses Found. A couple of horses were found in their stables about a mile from the bottom of Ralph's shaft. Ono _of the horses carno to tho bottom quite unhurt. 'I J. Young said that he, with Mitche'l, and the latter' 3 mate, were in No. 6 cabin. While walking along a tremendous wind met thein, going from the rear, which forced them to lie flat against the side. They wero unablo to converse for several minutes. Then they fell almost exhausted from tho cffects of tho foul air. They tried to get through the doors from No. 6 into the main road/ but were unable to do so, and knowing the direction of the West Taupiri shaft, made for that spot. , One of the men rescued from Ralph's shaft was blown back fully a hundred feet by the explosion.

MINE FULL OF FIRE-DAMP. BODIES TERRIBLY BURNT. (By Telegraph.—-Press Association.) Huntly, September 13. Experienced miners state that the mino is still full of fire-damp, and that it is quite possible that further explosions may occur at any time. The first rescue party, after being down soven hours, discovered fivo dead bodies, frightfully burnt, but who had apparently been trying to gropo their way out. ' A relief party descended at seven o'clock 011 Saturday evening, and remained below all night. Two additional bodies wero discovered lator on Saturday evening, and when the overnight party ascended this morning .they brought five additional bodies, making in all twelve recovorod up till ten o'clock this Rescue Work Hampered. Tho l'cscue work was greatly hampered from the want of safety lamps, wliilo tkero was no provision in tho way-of respirators or patent head-gear, such as aro used in rescuo work 011 the other side of ■ the world. Canaries were roloased by the party . at the west end of the shaft, but only

ono of these returned, and this in an almost dying condition. The seven bodies rescued on Saturday were not raised to tlie surface until nightfall, in order to spare tho eager waiting orowd tlio terrible gruesome spectacle. Waiting Crowds at the Pit-head. All night through small knots of people hung about the entrances, which aro on-tho opposite sides of the Waikato lliver, and about three miles apart. Many of tho women, who had sat there since early morning, were, when darkness fell, palo and haggard from the long suspense, while their eyes, in which tho tears had long sinco dried, now bore a look of tragic despair, and it was with difficulty that tliey were persuaded to leave.The workings aro so extensive that to thoroughly investigate them even' without the obstacles of hlockcd tunnels and foul air would take many hours. The work of rescue is therefore necessarily slow and tedious. Bringing up ths Dead. The parties working from each . end succeeded in forming a junction this morning along the main tunnel, where seven additional bodies wero fouud. The majority of these wero so terribly burned as to be almost unrecognisable, and identification consequently was difficult.

Tho raising of tho bodies to the surface was a gruesome, occupation as frequently, when toudhed, the skin stripped from the flesh and the clothing crumbled to ashes. Owing to the smallness of the cages it was impossible to raise tho bodies on stretchers, and they had to be supported in an upright position until tho surfaco was reached', when they were placed on stretchers and taken by rail to tho King's Hall, to await identification and tho opening of the coroner's inquiry. A'large and depressed crowd has been gathered outside the hall all day, and as the names .of tho dead become known they aro whispered round from group to group. Mine Saving Appliances. During Sunday morning a special train arrived from Waihi, bringing a rescue party, with patent self-contained breathing apparatus,' but as a thorough ventilation had by/this time been secured, their services were not utilised. A large number of coffins arrived during the afternoon, into which tho dead men wore placed, fully dressed, as they were taken from the mind. ' The rescuers state that some of the men were found sitting with their arms folded) some reclining on heaps of debris, and others lying on their faces further oil. One , was kneeling as though having made an.effort to escape. All were bleeding at tho mouth and nose. The Inquest Opens. • The inquest opened at i, o'clock before Mr. Rawson, S.M., and after formal evidence of identification had been taken was adjourned until September 23. SCENE AT THE PIT-HEAD. TERRIFIC EXPLOSION AND FLAME. Huntly, September 13. Arthur Alderdyce, who has been working in the Huntly mines for tho past four- months, stated that prior _ to the main explosion there was a rumbling sound, which was heard • throughout the. town, and a few seconds afterwards came a terrific explosion, which shook the whole place. He was in the street at tho time, and .his first impression was that one of the boilers had burst.

Huge Tonguo of Flamo, Almost instantaneously . there camo from the shaft a hugo mass of flame and smoke, which rose to a height of from ,70 rto 80 feet, .the., force of the: impact knocking to the ground a majority of the men in tho vicinity of' the pit-mouth. The corrugated iron buildings were blown away in all directions for sevoral yards, while one of the cages was thrust up to the poppet head, where it remained, in consequence of the safety clips acting 011 the wooden guides. Tlie other cage descended to the bottom of tlio some 130 or 150 feet. Tliero wero 40 or 50 men absent at the time. The next thing was tho appearanoo of tho caM with four men, who hauled themselves to tho surface,two, remaining below to give the signal to 1 haul tlio others up. The sight, Mr. Alderdyce says, was a ono, tho four men benig torribly burned, almost beyond recognition, while their sufferings must have been terrible. , . Tho manager (Mr. Flesher) was on the scene with commendable promptitudo, and in company with Mr. Woods (managor of the Extended), they dcscendecl the shaft to ascertain what damage had been dono, and to render every possible assistance. The pumps were all got going with a view to clearing the. atmosphero, and freeing the workings of .gas. Only one cage was now in operation, by means of which they, were lowored tq the bottom, and soon returned to the surfaco with tho other two men, Izatt and Peckham', the latter beiii" the son of tho deputymanager'. Both ' wero badly burned, especially the former.

A TRUCKER'S STORY. KNOCKED DOWN BY THE BLAST. An idea of the experience of the eleven men who escaped may be gathered from the personal story of J. Richards, a trucker, who was in No. 6 level. "I was working with my mate, Wilkie." he said, "and I had just crossed the new rope road, about oue and a half miles from tho bottom, when the.wind from tho explosion knocked us over. I lav on the ground to fresh air, until we saw a light coming. It was brought by Alexander Macintosh, the machine man, who was near me, but who had been going to a different district. Turned Back by the Fumes. "We found fresh air coming from tho Taupiri AVest shaft. There was splendid ventilation, and no sign of gas. Wilkie, myself, Macintosh, and another man, Stewart, then went along the travelling road until tho air became bad, when we returned, and had a sitting consultation. Macintosh proposed that we should go along tho main road to ceo if we could rescuo anybody, and we went a certain distance, until tho fumes stopped us,, and wo had to go back. "Wo finally reached the Taupiri West shaft, where we waited until tho others joined us. Macintosh ;hen signalled for a cage, by rapping according to directions at the bottom of the shaft. The oago was lowered, and we were taken up in twos, threes, and fours. There aro three shafts to tho mine tho Main shaft, tho Taupiri Weslj, and tho Fan shafts. I have worked in mines since 1 was l'l years of age, and in somj with safety lamps. This mino was supposed to bo the safest in the Dominion, and naked lamps weiro used. It is a mystery how tho explosion was caused." ,

ViCE-RECAL SYMPATHY. MESSAGE PROM THE GOVERNOR. The following message lias been received by the manager from His Excellency tlie Governor: — "I liave only just henrd of the terrible accident. Will you convoy to those employed in Ralph's Mine, and to the relatives of those injured, an expression of Lady Liverpool's and my own deepest sympathy. We sincerely trust' that those who are still in the mino may soon be released. Please telegraph progress of tlio rescuo work." MINISTER OF MINES LEAVES FOB HUNTLY. Tlio Minister of Mines (the Hon. W. Eraser) left last night by the express for Huntly. - The Prime Minister/ in

speaking to a reporter yesteixlay afternoon, said that had it been at all possible, lie would liave gone to Huntly himself ill consequence of the disaster there, but with the' Minister of Defence away at present, and with the arrangements for the transports .in hand, it was impossible) for him to leavo Wellington just' now. Tho member for the district (Mr. 11. F. Bollard) happens to be in IJnntly, having gone tliore to attend the projected opening''of a School of Mines in tho town to-day. Messrs. J. Robertson and 1\ C. Webb left for Huntly last night.

WELLINGTON'S SYMPATHY. TELEGRAM FROM THE MAYOR. Til© Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke) has forwarded tho following telegram to the chairman of the Town Board, Huntly: —"Citizens join me in deepest syriipatny with suiforers in sad disaster at Ralph's Mine. Please wire if assistance required." COMPANY'S POSITION. STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN. Auckland, September 12. Mr. Alison, chairman of directors of tho Taupiri Coal Company, says the disaster at Huntly was a great shock to him. The company had done everything possible to • minimise tho risk of accidents. Both Ralph's and the Extended mines omploycd men whoso business it was to do nothing else but go round and see everything was in order. They never boforo had a serious accident in the company's mines, and they always considered them free from gas. There is a barrier between the two mines of live chains, consisting of strata and coal, purposely left so that ail accident in ono mine would not affect the other. ' Messrs. ' John Mill and Co., local agents for, Taupiri coal in • the Wellington district, have been advised that owing to the explosion which occurred on Saturday' morning some • difficulty will bo experienced ill meeting the demand for supplies during the ensuing week, but it is not anticipated that tho delay will extend for any longer period.

RALPH'S MINE. ONE OF THE SAFEST IN THE DOMINION. Huntly is Situated on the Waikato railway line, 05 miles south of Auckland, and lias long been an important coal-miniug centre. The first settler thore was tho late Mr.,, Anthony Ralph, who took up 200 acres of land in the early 'sixties. He is said to have been the first man' to fliscover coal in the district. Subsequently his son, Mr. Robert Ralph, found a seam, which proved to bo 70ft. thick. About 1875 a company was formed to work tho Huntly coal deposits. Other mines were opened up, and later on these wore amalgamated under tho title of the Taupwr Coal Mines, Ltd. During tho Maori War, the Government supplied its steamers on the Waikato River with coal, which it obtained from a deposit on tho other side of iihat river to Jiuntly. A "Saf-s" Mine. How, the ■ accident happened is a. mystery. Tho Huntly mines are considered to be amongst the safest known. In fact the'mino has always been regarded by experts as free of gas, and it has been a customary thing for tho men to work with naked acetylene gas lights. In this connection, Professor H. B. Dixon, Professor of Chemistry in the University of Manchester, at present on a'.visit to Auckland, points out that it has been proved that coal dust-in tho atmosphere is as highly dangerous an exnlosive as coal gas itself. .

Two years ago the mine was examined by the Government experts, and was then declared to be one of the safest in , tte Dominion. In the last Mines report, presented to Parliament, Mr. Boyd; Bennie, Inspector of Mines, remarked: "The general .equipment of this, tho most important colliery in the North Island, is both efficient and modern." PREVfOUS DISASTERS. KAITANGAtfA AND THE BRTJNNER. New Zealand lias been liappily spared the suffering, loss, and misery entailed in serious mining accidents within the Dominion. In the history of our mining industry there have been only two disasters of magnitude, the explosion at tho Kaitangata Mine, _in Otago, on February 21, 1879, a disaster attended by the loss of 34 livos, and tho dreadful catastrophe at the Brunner, on Marcll 26, 1.896, when 67' moil were killed.