EXPLOSION AT WELLINGTON COAL MINE.

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 61, 2 August 1884, Page 6

EXPLOSION AT WELLINGTON COAL MINE.

Victoria, 8.C., July 2,— -Last Monday morning, the inhabitants in the vicinity of the South Wellington coal mines were horrified by a most tremendous explosion. Miners. a\ omen, and children, with blanched face?, rushed to the mouth of the shaft No. 3, whence the sound had emanated, and in a few moments a party of rescuers descended. The volumes of smoke that rolled along the passages in the levels almost overcame those who had thus early commenced the search for any avlio might have escaped with their lives. The fumes of the gas al&o were nearly unbearable, and prevented tho rescuers staying below more than a few minutes at a time. In tho dark stalls tho dim light of the lamps revealed a heartrending spectacle. There lay two brothers, blackened almost boyond recognition. Farther on, in anotVcr stall, was found tho body of a miner ■with the head reduced to a pulp Several Avere alive when found, and brought to the surface, Avhero their hurts Aycre" attended to. The search was continued till mid-day, when tho accumulation of after damp became so great as to compel the Avork to bo postponed. Seventeen bodies have been recovered. The men Avere just going down to work at the time, and had the explosion occurred a feAV minutes later, the loses of life would, have been nearly doubled. Thirty lives in all are reported to have been lost. An inquest was to be held to-day on the bodies, which are terribly blackened and disfigured, and in somo instances mangled, the head of one of them being reduced to a shapeless mass. The actual cause of the explosion was owing to the ignition of foul gas which occasionally pervaded No. 3, the scene of the disaster, and in consequence of this knoAvn liability it was the duty of a foreman to go doAvn with a Davy safety lamp every morning and report as to the condition of the various parts of the mine, registering such report in a book kept for the purpose. It is now said that he reported that morning that everything was safe, without having previously ascertained by going down into tho mine. The first inquiry Mr Dunsmuir made upon arriving upon the scene Avas for this man, but he Avas not to be found. Should he be discovered, ho ■will ta arrested. The indignation against him ia so great among the miners that if caught he will undoubtedly be lynched. Great difficulty was experienced in obtaining particulars of the catastrophe, every one appearing to be very reticent upon tho subjeot. Although somo .bodies yot remained in the mine, it was a strange feature that there was no crowd of women or men at the pit's head, and the work in the other mines is going on as usual. A young man named Walter Griffiths, who worked in the mine, walked towards the cage to" descend with the other miners, Avhen suddenly altering his mind he exclaimed, "No, I'm blfisedif I'll work any more until after the Fourth," and retracing his steps he entered his cabin, where he had not been many minutes when the explosion occurred.