THE BULLI DISASTER.

Evening Star, Issue 7174, 30 March 1887, Page 2

THE BULLI DISASTER.

[From the Sydney Papers.]

.At half-past two o’clock on the afternoon of March 22 a terrific explosion took place in the tunnel in the Bull! Company’s mine. The tunnel is a long one, penetrating the hill a distance of oyer'one mile,-.and most of the men inside were working at the inmost extremity, known as Hillend. Here it is that the explosion is supposed to have occurred. The first intimation of the disaster to those outside was a rush from the mouth of the tunnel of a blast of gaseous air, which threw Herbert Cope, a boy, who had been driving horses just inside the mine, to a distance of about a hundred yards. Cope was picked" up. insensible, but was found to have no bones broken, and afterwards recovered consciousness; A Frenchman working outside was precipitated _ down an ernbctnkrnent, blit escaped serious injury. The pile of timber props outside the tunnel’s mouth was .blown a considerable

distance, these facts gave evidence of the tremendous force of the explosion. , As soon as the men working outside realised the appalling fact that between eighty and ninety of their mates were in the mine, a relief party, consisting of Lang, Chalmers, Scott, and Hope, was formed. The brave fellpws faced the dark dangers of the terrible tunnel without a moment’s hesitation. Those outside waited in breathless siispense for their return. Shortly after the relief party had disappeared in the murky darkness, a shock of two email explosions, evidently right in the interior of the mine, was felt, and added to the agonising anxiety of those gathered round the entrance. After a period of suspense well-nigh unendurable, Lang returned to the mouth of the tunnel. He was completely exhausted, and could hardly crawl out. He said his companions were in danger. Immediately further rescue parties were formed, and ultimately Chalmers, Scott, and Hope Were brought out alive. Further relief expeditions were much hampered for want of safety lamps. Five of these indispensahles' were, however, found, and the work of exploration was vigorously And bravely carried on. It was discovered that the tunnel was completely blocked some, distance from the mouth, and from the appearance of the fallin it was evident that"tohs upon tone of solid earth separated the inner workings from the would : be rescuers. It was at once seen that there , was hdrdly the faintest ground for hope that the poor fellows who had been working within had escaped destruction ; nevertheless, although the work was one of despair and terrible difficulty, the rescuers set to work with desperate determination. By fi p.m. the dead bodies of Felix Bourne, William Bourne, sen., William Bourne, jun., Melville, two men of the name of M‘Kay, Wade, and George Ralph had been brought out. The remains were shattered and charred in a horrible manner, THE SCENE AT THE MINE. One woman was in extreme agony of grief and went hopelessly mad, reqniring restraint. She bad lost two sons in the mine. As the bodies were brought out the scene was absolutely indescribable. The remains were in some cases burned to a cinder. Heads were smashed in, and arms and legs broken, and fearful gashes appear on the bodies. The clothes in many cases were burned to ashes, and the hair singed from the heads, and the faces: and flesh roasted and shrivelled on the Crooked, stiffened limbs. Identification was alfhost impossible, though it whs attempted by examining the clothes of those brought to the mine’s mouth, i The whole Cf the Hulend part of the tunnel is damaged, and for a considerable part of its distance the line is blocked, in some places being covered by IGffc to I(Jfb of fallen eaith. The bodies Us they were recovered were borne to the tunnel’s mouth by bearers;on stretchers and taken to a blacksmith’s shop through a crowd of women. The poor creatures at the mouth remaffide hoping against hope, and praying fervently that the bitter sorrow of their neighbors may not come upon them. They cannot or will not believe that the husband who went to his. work yesterday morning in all the pride of strong manhood is dead. One distracted wife (a widow now) shrieked, as she heather breast and tore her hair out by handfuls, “He is not—he cannot be dead. ” They will not realise the terrible fact. They refuse to believe it, and turn savagely on those who approach them with a view of offering consolation.

There is no clue to the' cause of the catastrophe ; and though an inquiry l will be held in due course, it is believed nothing will be elicited as to the origin, as “ dead men tell no tales.’’ It is presumed that perhaps one of the lately employed “ blackleg”, miners engaged near the ol<i -workings had .broken through, and with either a naked light or through lighting a match had caused the explosion. On the Hillend workings the force of the concussion blewont the stoppings along the straight Tun, and the foul air and black damp were forced into the western drive, W r here about 1 eight men were working at the time of explosion. The majority of old hands killed were married men with families. The Bowens—father and two sons—lie dead side by side in the receiving house. There are three Walkers and three Harrises among the miners. Mrs Mackay.lost her husband and two sons, and is left with six other comparatively young children to battle with the world alone. The first bodies to be recovered were those of Otway Bowen and Felix Bowen, who were killed where they had .been working, The former had his head cut open in various E laces, the latter his leg and arm broken and ead cut. The clothing was burnt off, and the eyes cut out. George Stephenson was terribly tautilated. The others were less terribly'knocked about. All were black as coal and covered with cinders and flesh. The, roasted toes were/curled and shrivelled up, and limbs,, stiffened and crooked, the eyes hi some cases, burnt and cut out. The special reporter of . the ‘ Evening News ’ says:—“ I went along the tunnel as far as I could with safety. In many places I had to climb for, yards over fallen blocks of stone, tons in weight. I had'proceeded nearly a mile and a-quartor when I deemed it advisable to return, consequent on the effect of foul air. No attempt has so far been made to explore the western drive. It is alleged that this is impossible at present, owing to the presence of foul air coming from the opening, temporarily stopped with canvas to keep the firedamp back from the direct course of the supply of fresh air along the straight run in the main workings. The very greatest care is required in passing through towards the place where the men lay buried. A touch of a careless hand on a prop or a cap-piece, and thousands of tons of crumbling earth and rock may be precipitated to the level of the floor. It is a jour-: ney fraught with intense danger, and the brave men,who are risking their lives to recover the bodies of their comrades display a true spirit of heroism. The report was heard at North Bull!, three miles away, but few except old miners and women who had heard ; that awful sound before recognised the note of death. The terrible news spread like; wildfire, and by 4 p.m. people from far and near had gathered at the mouth of .the pit. The town of Bulli to-day wears a funeral aspect. Men are wandering listlessly and, aimlessly about, waiting for news which cannot, unless by the interposition of a miracle, be good news, Women are rushing frantically about, praying, weeping, and appealing to God to pity them and to men to aid them. What could be done is being done, and the work of recovery of a few even of the bodies will extend over some days. All business is entirely suspended. It is only recently that the long strike at Bulli colliery was terminated and the mine resumed full work. The full number of employes is about 300.