FIRE IN A COAL PIT.

Evening Star, Issue 12865, 14 July 1906, Page 6

FIRE IN A COAL PIT.

THE MOLYNEUX MINE ON FIRE.

FOUR MEN ENTOMBED.

[Special to

the Star.]

ALEXANDRA SOUTH, July 14. Great consternation was caused in Alexhi if*?" P€ ,° ple hdMad «*** irto thtT th6 «* « the beU eamt the horrified new* that tfa» Molyneux Loal Company's mine was on fire, and that

WILLING WORKERS.

THE FIRE CEASING.

-Four Miners Were Entombed.— scene of .S' f™ l ' 1 * off *> the scene of the disaster to render what heir. driver (B f»T*ff. u PP«»w*i to-be steam coming • iS ff 1 d^ we »«d it was smoke, He immediately shut off the steam from the 3? ifh* *■*** to below itL tiung B wroD g> and generally signal back from the men inquiring the reason of hiß shutting off rhe.Seam. 8 But that reoeiVe aUy SignaJ ' and realisin g

—Danger Was afc Hand.—

he called his brother, who was sleeping in a hut within a few chains from the mine, Ue towered his brother down the shaft, but was compelled- to lift him up again, as the e«.oke was so dense that it was impossible to proceed further. The manager of the mine (Mr James Pollock) was at once sent for, and he arrived on the scene of the disaster, about four o'clock. By this time the shaft was,in full blaze and the

—Staging was a Mass of Flames.—

The poppet heads were also on -fire, and an. attempt was made to raieo the cage, which was down the shaft, but' without success. The alarm was given by the firebell ringing, and within a short time afterwards people were hurrying in all directions t-> the mine. The rescuers next tried to get down the adjoining shaft, but were unsuccessful, and it was not until six o'clock that the first dgnal was received from the men. Smoke is issuing from the mine in dense clouds, but as yet —All Attempts to Rescue Have Proved

Futile—

Willing workers are now cutting a race with the object of turning the borough water into the mine to try and check the progress of the fire, and the whole Ecene presents an appalling spectacle. Signals are being received from the men, but it is unknown if all are yet alive. There is no escape shaft in the mine, and it seems that unless the water checks iho fire

—The Men Must Perish.—

There is sufficient air in the mine to keep the men alive for three or four days, but whether they can brave the long, weary hours that must elapse before they can see any means of release is a subject in everyone's mouth at present. All the men are well known in the "ocality. Churchill is superintendent of the Presbyterian Sabbath School, whilst the other three men are prominent members of the Akr .idra Football and Cricket Clubs. The town is a scene of great confusion, and business is at a complete standstill.

PROSPECTS OF SAVING THE MEN.

11.30 a.m.

There are hundreds of willing workers at the scene of the disaster. At 830 this morning a start was made to cut a race to the mine. The distance was fully 400 yds, and in some places the raoe was sft deep. The rescuers

—Worked as They Had Never Bone Before,— and, as showing the manner in which they worked, in less than two hours the water was turned into the mine. There must have been nearly 150 men with picks and shovels working at the race. On several occasions different miners have gone down the air shaft, and report that the fire is ceasing. Signals are being received from the entombed men, who report all eafe. The manager and other experienced miners express the opinion that the men

—Will Be Rescued Safely.— t

All the hose available in the town is being used to carry water to check the firogress of the fire. Two additional pumps tave been requisitioned to pump water, and hopes are entertained that before night the fire will be sufficiently under control to enable an entrance to be made for the rescue of the unfortunate miners . 3 p.m. Steady progress is being made with the checlring of the fire. A pump haß been erected, and a jet of waiter is being played into the mine. The dense smoke has stopped coming up the upcast, and news from the workens down below is very enoouraiging. —The Latest Account—

from them is that the fine has been checked and an apparatus is being erected so that the heart of the mine can be visited. Signals are still being received from the entombed men that —All Are Safe.—

Great consternation prevails in the vicinity p-f the mine, where fully a thousand people are anxiously awaiting the news of each visit, and the scene is appalling, everyone being awe-stricken. The whole of the borough waiter has been turned in to check the fire, and is working admirably. It seems almost certain, from the reports of the workers down below, that the men will be rescued safely.

The Molyneux coal 'pit is situaied on the river bank, about a mile or so albovo the township of Alexandra, and on the same side of the river. The seam is not at a great depth, and is a brown lignite rather than a true coal. It is mined chiefly for use on the dredges in the neighborhood. The workings extend under the bed of the Molyneux in one direction, and at one time danger was apprehended more from the possibility of an inrush of water than from fire. Wth\n the Molyneux Hydraulic dredge was taking a cut up her claim (on which the coal pit is situated) she was dredging on a coal bottom when abreast of the pit. At least on one occasion a request was sent from the pit to the winchman on the dredge to "dredge light," ;as the miners in the workings underground could plainly hear the dredge's scraping and digging overhead, and a liitle dirty water was making at the face. The workings are not on a very large scale, and probably the men imprisoned would constitute one shift.