REDHILL MINE DISASTER

Northern Advocate, 18 February 1926, Page 3

REDHILL MINE DISASTER

FOUR MEN KILLED. EIGHT OTHERS INJURED. USE OP NAKED LIGHTS. The explosion which occurred in the Redhead colliery, about 12 miles from Newcastle, towards the end of last week, was not at first thought to be serious enough to be placed among the great mining disasters, of this Slate. The subsequent deaths of three of the eleven injured, in addition io the miner found dead in the pit, have made the explosion and its effects much more grave than at first believed. The explosion occurred in an old working that was being prepared for renewal mining, and was believed to have been caused by a naked light coming into contact with a pocket of gas. The Redhead Colliery had been classed as a “safe” mine, and consequently the use of naked lights was pfiicially permitted. This disaster is likely to re-open the question of whether all coal mines should not bo equipped with eloetrfic lighting. The Minister of Mines in the present State Labour Administration (Mr Baddeley) is a former Newcastle miner himself. Ho knows mining conditions thoroughly. He is at present in negotiation with the mine owners for the voluntary installation of electric lights in all colleries, but if the owners do not agree to this, Mr Baddeley will probably force their hands by legislation. Interest is lent to this aspect by the fact that the Royal Commission has been investigating the safety conditions of coal' mines for nearly a year, and Mr Baddeley will probably have its report handed to him within a short period.

RESCUE IN INKY BLACKNESS. The first news of the Redhead explosion was received at the pit-top by a telephone message from a 1(5-year-old youth at the 240 ft level to the mine manager, tolling him that an explosion had occurred, and asking him to come down. Tho mine manager at once organised a rescue party, and descended to the affected level, where they found everything in inky blackness, as the explosion had extinguished all lights. Aided only by the glimmer their safety lamps the members of tho rescue party groped their way to the seat of the explosion. With splendid energy, they carried the injured men a mile and a quarter along tho main drive to the cage shaft. Not until they had regained, the surface was it found that one of the shift working in the mine at the time of the explosion was missing. Again a descent was made, and search revealed the body of the missing man.

The most, graphic description of the disaster was given by a 16-year-old pony driver named Alexander Heaney. Just before the. explosion occurred Heaney was driving his pony and skip down the main roadway when suddenly there was a sound like rushing wind, and the next instant he was knocked off his feet and fell into the bottom of'the skip. Blinded by coal dust and with his lamp extinguished, Heaney struggled to his feet and made towards a flat, wide space a few yards up the

tunnel. Having relit Ms lamp, lie was about to leave the flat and return to Ins skip when two men who had been working in the part where the explosion cceVirrcd stumbled past him with their clothing torn to shreds. Heaney then assisted the rescue party in tending the injured.

The Redhead colliery has been established 40 years, and employs 320 men. Coal is mined from two /seam's, one 240 fet down and the other 570 foot. By the time- the upper seam, where the explosion occurred, had been cleared of workmen, the miners workingin the bottom scam had, as the result of the termination of their shift, knocked off work, and come to tie surface. They then learned for the first time of the explosion which had occurred in the seam 'above them an hour and a half before.