DEATH IN COLLIERY

Evening Star, Issue 23381, 26 September 1939, Page 9

DEATH IN COLLIERY

BRAVERY OF RESCUE PARTY PRAISED ENGLISH MIKE DISASTER How members of rescue teams faced death after an explosion which killed fve men as Ashley Green Colliery, yldesley, England, on June 6, was related at an inquest in Leigh. Xhe jury returned verdicts of 1 death from misadventure.” The coroner said that great bravery had been shown, not only by Mr J, H. Hewitt, the late manager, but by others. They had acted quite regardless of themselves. The foreman of the jury said they considered the deaths had been caused by the explosion, and that the shot, had set alight firedamp. The jury did not think there was any criminal negligence on the part of anyone. MINING AGENT’S STORY. Edward Humphrey Browne, mining agent to Manchester Collieries Ltd., owners of the pit, said that Hewitt rang him up and said that during the early hours of June 6 a shot had been fired and some smoke had been seen at another place. Hewitt said he was satisfied that the smoke had been fumes from the shot. Mr Browae said that after another message be put in force the emergency organisation, He spoke to Hewitt twice on the telephone, and Hewitt was emphatic that he could find no trace of fu-e Witness was about to go underground himself when a message was received: “It has gone off again. It-has blown us off our feet,” Two men volunteered to go down with him, said Mr Browne. It was very dusty and difficult to seo when they reached the delivery level. The safety lamps were burning, though lew, and the canary with them was still alive. At the haulage return . frame Browne’s lamp wont out, and ho asked the men behind to pass a lamp forward. The canary then appeared to be dead. With the safety lamps out ho could go no farther, and he returned and telephoned for rescue teams. When they came he instructed the captain of the first team to go under oxygen to look for the missing men. They returned later and said they had been along the delivery level ana had almost reached the coal face when there had been a big fall which prevented them from getting any farther. SAW THREE BODIES. The captain of the rescue team told witness that he had passed three bodies and offered to go back and get them. Witness said “ No,” Witness then set a rescue team on to the No, 8 brow, with instrutcions to see if there was any trace of fire. One of the men thrust an oxygen cylinder into the hands and told him to keep the valve and feed himself when_ necessary. Ho waited a short time with the standby team and then retreated to a point where he could short-circuit the fresh air into the return. In his opinion, had the first rescue team been allowed to return for the three bodies their Jives would have been lost. He did not know what caused the explosion. William Granby, under-manager, said that when ho went down the mine after the accident there was a temporary lull in the ventilation and a sudden reversal of the air currents.