A WELSH DISASTER

Hokitika Guardian, 1 December 1924, Page 2

A WELSH DISASTER

FI.ODDS EXTOMB MEX. IUHTIiALIA.N AND N.Z. CAHLIC ASaUCI AIION LONDON, Xovmber 20. The Welsh minors wore still entombed at a late hour in the flooded Durvant colliery. They are now stated to number 11. The rescuers have been working for twenty-four hours, with mugnilieent courage, continuing throughout the second night. Those entombed are divided into two groups of live and six. The hopes are now most favourable of reaching the latter, but it is feared that they may already have perished from black damp. Normally fifteen pumps pump out between 12 and lo thousand gallons of water an hour. Yesterday only two pumps were working, the others having been swept away by the torrent, which is believed to ho due to the bursting of a barrier, owing to the pressure of water in another pit, long abandoned. The workings are nearly a mile in length, on a steep slant. Water floured down to the lower levels with tremendous force, carrying timber-

ing. The debris overtook a line of trollevs, whereon a youth, \\ illiam Colliding, was journeying. He was swopt along, and eventually was f inned under bv :t.!ic* timbering. Ho was found unconscious and died.

The rushing water and debris tore the clothes from many of the survivors who reached the surface almost naked, with their hands cut and bleeding. They told thrilling stories of their desperate struggle to surmount the fallen coal and sections of the roof. Many were obliged to wade waist deep, and crawl long distances, througli slime, on their stomachs. A number of the. survivors were brought out unconscious by their comrades'. who, ignoring their own danger stayed to succour those who were pinned clow’ii and half drowned. The officials had difficulty in keeping hack the crowds of miners who were willing to risk their lives to rescue their comrades. , Tired, anxious women were still •watching the pithead in drenching rain last night.

MINE HOOF FALLS IX. LONDON’, November 28. The fall of the roof in the Duffryn Rhondda Colliery at I’ort Abliot killed three firemen, all married men with largo families. Throe others were seriously injured, two of whom are in a precarious condition. NO HOPE. (Received this day at 8 n.m.) LONDON, November 20. The rescuers have abandoned hope of reaching the eleven entombed men in the Duiivant Mine. BRITISH 8 FOREIGN NEWS [R EtTF.P-3 TEt.r.nn.vMs.l P.UssIAN REPLY. LONDON, Nov. 28. The Ri;--ian reply to Mr Chamberlain'- te.-.e- regrets the rejection of Mr MacDonald's Treaty, and repeats the request to submit the authenticity of Ziiieviolf's letter to arbitration. 1)E VALERA RELEASED. LONDON, Nov. 28. De Valera has been released. He was motored to Adavoye on Armagh side of the border, and was placed on a train for Dublin, where lie arrived at 11 o'clock in the morning. He drove to the Republican Headquarters and met .Miss M.cSweency. Austin Stack and other leaders. De Valera was kept ill solitary confinement during his imprisonm**!'l ■ and looked worn, hut was in good spirits. There was no demonstrutio arrival as his release was not expected until to-morrow.

A FIEND FOILED. VIENNA, November 28. Emanuel Bedling, aged 22, a few weeks after marrying a pretty girl of 20, locked her ill a flat, blocked the entrance with furniture, and then set fire to the woman’s clothing, which he has saturated with netrol. The Fire Brigade broke in and rescued the girl, whose life the husband had insured heavily a few days previously. c; AS IN AVAR. CHRISTIANIA, Nov. 28. “Alton Rost’s” military correspondent declares: ‘-Russia has the highest developed system in ’Europe for using gas in war. The country has been divided into four experimental sections for the <-aTrying out of extensive investigations. Even horses rind convicts are used in the experiments in the Ukraine, wherein, the paper declares, sixty men convicts have been killed.

Liter testings, it says, of gas bombardments from aeroplanes killed 20 Cossacks and eleven horses. It adds Unit Poland, Franco and Germany are intensively developing the use of gas.