A COAL MINE HORROR. Terrible Loss of life.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 206, 4 June 1887, Page 4

A COAL MINE HORROR. Terrible Loss of life.

A terrible explosion of gas took place in shaft No. 1 of the Vancouver Coal Company's mine, in which there "were upward of 150 miners at the time. The first intimation those on the surface had of the explosion was a terrific shock, followed by the air shaft. The first explosion was quickly followed by a second one, ftronger than the preceding, carrying pieces of wood, miners' lamps, etc., hundreds of feet into the air. In a few minutes (lames commenced issuing through the air shaft with a roaring noise. In a short time the fanhouse caught fire and was quickly consumed. In the meantime nine white men and four Chinese were brought up through No 1, or the hoisting shaft. 11. Gibson, an overman, miraculously escaped from the lower stope by following the air course to the stables, where he was met by a resetting party. The rescuers continued to attempt to reach the entombed men, but were unable to rescue more than fifteen up to thi^ hour. They were overcome with the after damp and had to be rescued by others. One of the noble rescuers, Samuel Hudson, succumbed to the effects of the after damp. All day gangs of men have been en-o-aged in strenuous efforts to subdue the Sanies in the shaft, and at 7 p.m. it was thought they had the fire under control. The Meiryweather steam fire engine is doing good work pumping water from the harbour down the shaft, the hand fire engine having been taken down the mine, where it is fighting the fire from the level. It is impossible to make an attempt to get a t the imprisoned men until the fire is^subdued, for by doing so it would drive the gas on to the fire and cause a second disaster. There is but little hope of saving the men alive, but an effort will be made°at the first possible moment to reach the imprisoned miners. Over one-half of the dead, injured and imprisoned men leave wives and families to mourn their untimely end. Jules Michael, one of the injured, stated that he was sitting in the cabin at supper, in shaft 2, and felt the concussion. All the others scrambled out, but he became insensible and was the only one saved of his four companions ; their dead bodies came up in the cage with him. Several of those saved hardly appreciate their miraculous escape, owing to the dazed feeling which characterized all who came out from the deadly pit, which was only 150 yards from the entrance to the shaft. A'l hope of rescuing any one in the mine has been abandoned, though everything is being done to reach them that is possible. At first it was proposed to cut a ditch to salt water so as to put out the fire in two shaft by turning a stream of water into it, but the scheme was abandoned as it would only llood the mine. A black pall hangs over the city. The business houses are all closed, the colliers shut up and the entire population is gathered at the shaft. The cause of the terrible explosion is of course unknown, but is generally nupposed to have been an explosion of coaldust, similar to that on the Queen of the Pacific. The tale, however, will never be told. A later dispatch says: — "It is believed late to-night that the fire in the shaft has been extinguished, and only a small body of llarae exists between the air and main shaft, which will probably be extinguished to morrow, when an attempt will be made to force in air and the work of the rescue bo begun by to-morrow night. The shift that came up late to-nighb reported hearing evidence of a pick striking on the opposite side of a wall. The feeling now is that where there is life thero is hope, unfortunately, is very faint.