TERRIBLE COLLIERY EXPLOSION.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 2083, 27 October 1880, Page 3

TERRIBLE COLLIERY EXPLOSION.

A disaster of appalling magnitude occurred at theSeaham Colliery, Durham, on September Bth. The colliery, which belongs to the Marquis of Londonderry, is situate on a hill, about a mile from the sea and within sight of Sunderland, The correspondent of the “ Times,” writing on the evening of the day on which the accident happened, supplies the following particulars: The explosion occurred at half-past two o’clock in the morning, and was heard between two and three miles off. The Marquis of Londonderry was at one of his seats, within half a mile of the pit, Seahamhall. He was soon on the spot, and has remained here all day. There was no want of assistance, as colliery managers and owners from all parts of the county flocked in. Mr 8011, the Government inspector for Durham, and his assistant, Mr Atkinson, also appeared. The Seaham colliery was sunk about forty years ago, and was worked about half that time with a single shaft for sending down the men and ventilating the pit. This system of working was abolished by the Mines Begulation Act of 1862, which made it compulsory to have two separate and distinct shafts, some distance apart, for ventilation, and taking the men up and do * n the pit. The Seaham Colliery is now worked with the old arrangement of a shaft with a brattice separating it, but this is now entirely worked as a downcast shaft, where the men go down and come up, and this is called No. 1 and No. 2 shafts—really one shaft with a brattice up the centre. The upcast shaft is about ISO yards away, and there is the place whence all the foul air comes from the pit. There are five seams of coal being worked, the main seam 460 yards from the surface, where seventeen men have been rescued; then the Maudlin seam, 490 yards, with sixty men ; and Nos. 1,2, and 3, Hutton seams, with fifty-five, thirty-three, and seventeen men respectively working, making a total of 182 down the pit at the time of the explosion. These seams run on an average to between five and six feet, and it should be said that the Hutton seams are broken up by a “ fault,” and are worked in three sections about twenty yards below the main and Maudlin seams. There are two seams further down—the Harvey and Basty—at a depth from the top of the shaft of 560 and 600 yards. There are about 1600 men employed at the colliery alto- , gether, and they work three shifts per day or seven hours each ; so that the full complement of men in the pit at one time would not be leas than 500. When the explosion occurred there were very few hewers in the pit, the men there being principally engaged in clearing the travelling ways and putting in timber to support the roofs and make it safe for the men to get the coal. The force of the explosion, at present supposed to have originated in the lowest seams, was such as to block up both the upcast and downcast shafts, and this led to the belief that every soul in the pit bad perished. "Ventilation was, however, soon restored, and the work of removing the debris in the shaft was begun. The efforts of the exploring sarty were soon rewarded by sounds from jelow, and within four hours of the explosion nineteen men in the upper or main coal seam were found, all alive and well. They were got at by relays of men going down through the broken and shattered shaft by means of loops slung on chains, the regular cages and runners having been destroyed. Three men were brought up from this main seam at one o’clock, the other sixteen having refreshments sent down to them and electing to stay rather than impede the party in their efforts to rescue the sufferers who had been heard knocking and shouting further down the shaft. The latter, it is hoped, will be reached in the course of a few hours, for at present the ventilation is not bad. There is a large volume of air proceeding down the downcast, but whether it goes down to the four lower seams before reaching the upcast is not known. There 165 men are still imprisoned. The knockings from down below, however, indicate that some men still survive, and it is to rescue these men that the sixteen brave men in the main seam prefer to remain immured rather than stop for a few minutes the work of rescuing their less fortunate comrades. Four men were brought to bank later on, and at halfpast 6 o’clock the news was brought up that several men had been found alive in the Hutton seam, No. 1 pit, whore fifty -five men were known to have been working. At seven o’clock the exploring party, which had up to this time been using only the No. l and No. 2 downcast shaft, also got to work in the upcast shaft, and this enabled them to proceed at a much greater rate. An hour later six men were brought up to bank, and there are fifteen more waiting their turn to be sent to the surface. The furnace man at the bottom of this upcast shaft was found dead, and there are some others also fearfully burnt near the furnace. It is feared that 140 men and boys are killed. The Marquis of Londonderry has been most solicitous in behalf of the sufferers, and has been about the colliery all day. Later. Those who have been semi dead are near the shaft. Some of the men are believed to be a mile away. It is supposed that the former were overcome by the after-damp. A woman named Featt dropped down dead on being told that her brother was among the victims. Women who may be widowed and children who may be fatherless are waiting drearily in the roadways leading to the colliery. In all fifty-seven hands have been saved, though some of them are in a very exhausted state. The work of the explorers is very difficult, but they will continue it all night, and it is hoped that they will effect a clear way into the workings by morning. No signs of fire are perceptible, though there must be a large accumulation of gas in the pit.

The following is the narrative of one of the men, Ralph Marley, who was immured with eighteen others in the main coal seam. H e said—There was a set of four of them working together 1200 yards from the shaft, driving a heading, a work preparatory to the hewers getting the coal., Here they used powder for bringing the stone down. They always took the precaution to go eighty yards in different directions to see if gas was to bo found, but so free is the colliery from gas that during the twelve months he had been working in the seam he had never seen gas. Lamps of of the most approved pattern, the Belgian, Davy, and Stephenson, are used all over

the pit, although no gas is ever seen, and the current in the main drivings is eo strong that the men have to keep their eyes partly closed to keep out the dust caused by the rush of air. Marley said that about twenty minutes past two o’clock they felt a rush of wind, and he said to one of his mates, “ There’s something up,” and his mate thought that there was a fall somewhere near the place, but on looking he found nothing. Marley, who had been in three colliery explosions before, told bis mates that the pit bad fired, and on their going towards the shaft, about a quarter of a mile from it they found a deputy over-man named Wardle, lying insensible, with his face covered with blood, and here they met the afterdamp, T7p to this time they had fresh air, but on proceeding along towards the shaft they saw the effects of the explosion. Doors had been blown down, and there was debris about the main ways. When they reached the shaft there were nineteen of them, with eight or nine lamps among them, the rest having had theirs blown out at the time of the explosion. They were getting air into their seam, but the return air was so foul that it was like being in a very smoky room. They had water and tea with them, and they partook of this refreshment, but they had misgivings as to whether they were out of danger. They dreaded a second explosion, and they travelled about in different directions in couples to see whether there were any signs of fire, but, not finding any, they sat down, now and again shouting up the shaft without, however, getting any response. About five o’clock they thought they heard voices from above, and this cheered them, but it was not till one o’clock that they were assured of being rescued. Marley, who is an elderly man, was then slung in a loop, and with two others brought to the surface, and walked home, where he has been visited by many relatives. It is nine years since an explosion occurred at this colliery, and at this time twenty-eight people ware lost.