ELEVEN DEAD

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20051, 25 September 1939, Page 6

ELEVEN DEAD

OVERCOME BY GAS HUNTLY TRAGEDY FIRE IN COAL MINE VICTIMS At,l, MARRIED GALLANT RESCUE WORK RECOVERY OP BODIES (Per Press Association.) AUCKLAND, this day. A fire which broke out yesterday morning in the Glen Alton coal mine generated deadly gasses which caused the deaths of 11 men, all of them married, and plunged Huntly coal-mining district into the worst tragedy which had befallen it since 1914, when 41 men lost their lives in an explosion in the Huntly mine.

The full list of those killed is as follows: —

Christopher Blackburn, aged 40, mine

manager. William Brown, aged 40, under man-

ager. William Wilcox, aged 55, under

viewer. Richard Ireland, aged GO, deputy. Walter Cole, aged 45, deputy. Jack Marshall, aged 37, acting deputy, William Bell, aged 37, electrician. Raymond Turley, aged 34, electrician. William Pcdcn, aged 50, miner.

George Hunter, aged 35, shift man. James Clark, aged 50, shift man. On Saturday morning during the daily inspection, which is compulsory whether the mine is being worked or not, a defect was discovered in the electrical system of the Glen Afton mine. That section of the system was isolated from the rest and shortly after 8 o’clock yesterday morning two electricians, Messrs. Bell and Turley, accompanied by two deputies, or the section foremen, Messrs. Cole and Ireland, walked down into the mine, which like the MacDonald, is of the “walk-in" type Detection of Gas About an hour later Mr. Cole telephoned Mr. Blackburn and told him that he had detected the presence of carbon monoxide gas in large quantities. Mr. Blackburn at once went down to investigate and a few minutes later telephoned the engineer, Mr. D. Thomas, asking him to start the fans. Mr. Thomas at once organised a party, and within a few minutes Messrs. Brown, Wilcox, Ireland, Peden, Hunter, Marshall and Clark had gone below the surface. Two hours later Mr. Thomas himself went down with some refreshments for tiie men and he had not gone more than half a mile when he suddenly felt himself affected by the gas. He hastily retraced his steps lo give the alarm. Mr. Thomas staggered out at the head and although only partly conscious he was able to tell miners standing nearby of his fears for .the safety of those who had gone down some hours before.

Rescue Parties Organised

Rescue parties from all the mines in the district were hastily organised, and soon after midday the first party went down from the Glen Afton end, followed not long afterwards by another party from the MacDonald end. It was not until 3.30 p.m. that the first body was recovered.

Watchers guarding the life line attached to one of the rescuers saw a miner’s light hundreds of feet below waver and fall to the ground. They hurriedly hauled on the line and brought up Mr. James Mitchell, who, although nearly overcome by the effects of the gas, had with an almost superhuman effort managed to cling to the body of Mr. Brown.

It was not until four hours afterwards that the bodies of Messrs. Blackburn, Clark, Cole, and Hunter were brought up at the MacDonald end. Almost simultaneously the bodies of Messrs. Peden and Wilcox were recovered from the Glen Alton end. Prolonged efforts at resuscitation were fruitless.

Determined attempts to find the bodies of the three others, Messrs. Ireland, Bell and Turley, were continued during the night; but without success. Anxious Wait For News Haggard men and women waited in groups for hours in the drizzling rain at the entrance to the mine through yesterday afternoon and last night hoping for word of those who had not been seen since they went below yesterday morning. Here and there mingling with hundreds of miners and their friends eager for news or anxious to help, the wives of the members of the rescue parties stood talking in undertones. Grim-faced miners, their safety 'amps winking in the darkness, formed themselves into units prepared to face the gas-saturated inner tunnels below the ground. Every man was willing to help. Neighbours made quantities of tea, miners experienced in first aid work stood ready, and doctors were also in readineis. The doctors did good work.