PIT DISASTER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15263, 29 March 1913, Page 2 (Supplement)

PIT DISASTER.

FOURTEEN SINKERS KILLED.

SURVIVORS' ORDEAL.

Fourteen men lost their lives at the Boleover Colliery Company's new pit on Lord Savile's estate at ■ Rufford, near Mansfield, Notts, recently.

The disaster was caused by the "overwinding" of a huge iron bucket containing 800 gallons of water, and weighing several "tons. A wooden stay supporting the canvas i shelter' over the engineman suddenly fell on to the levers, and the canvas wrapped round his head. Before he could again get control of the engine the bucket had been wound up too far, the chain snapped, and the huge tank fell down the shaft. Few pit disasters are the result of such a series of unforeseen and apparently unavoidable mishaps. Two new shafts were being sunk. In No. 1 shaft, 150 yards from the surface, eighteen pit sinkers on the night shift were at work on a big scaffold, fixing the last section of tubing to the sides of the shaft. This tubing was necessary to carry off or divert the water which was breaking in on the sinking work. The shaft is said to be one of the widest in the country. It is intended to work a seam 1800 ft deep and turn out 1000 tons of coal a day. Below the scaffold on which the men were at work wae water 90ft deep, and from this "sump," through a space provded in the middle of the scaffold ,water was being wound up, not pumped, in an iron tank attached to the ordinary winding Tope. This tank holds nearly SCO gallons of water, . During a heavy gale rain bad made its way through ihe roof of the wind' ing engine shed. To shelter himself the engineman nailed some laths to his chair or stool, and covered these witli a horsecloth- The night was wild, and while the winder was drawing up the full tank of water a sudden gust of wind brought down the horse-cloth over his head, and the laths fell femong his levers. To extricate himself was the work of only a few seconds; but those were just the critical momenta on the winding "journey," and the few seconds lost could not be overtaken, even by the drastic action of promptly'reversing with full steam against the run of the engines or herculean foot-brake effort. The? ; tank, coming up at great speed, crashed into the headgear, and on its release from the winding rope fell back down the shaft, crashing through the pitmen's scaffold and carrying it and the eighteen men into the 90ft of water below. In ordinary circumstances the more serious consequences of over-winding are averted by the Ornterod hook, or "butterfly catch.". This safety appliance has two wings or fins- In the event of over-winding these wings are pressed in as it passes through the bellshaped aperture in the beam below the winding pulley. This pressure cut? .* copper rivet and detaches the winding rope, and the upper part of the hook opens and grips the beam. Awful Scene Below. But while these safety-hooks have saved many lives, full security is uncertain in the event of a disastrous over-winding at great speed. The hook seems to have acted properly in this case, but the great force of the collision caused the tank to jump up and either break away from the hook or drag the hook back with it through the broken beam. It was some time before help could be obtained for the survivors among the unfortunate party at the bottom of 'the shaft. ' Frenzied efforts were made/ and twenty men from No. 2 shaft were brought across the hurricane-swept moorland. In the rain and wind these and other workers rigged up a temporary "hopper," and an hour and a-half later a. rescue party was lowered' down the shaft. In the water, ; dinging to chains, signal wires and broken scaffoldings they found five men still alive. One had a broken arm, and another a broken leg. Thirteen had disappeared; the suction caused by the tank had drawn them down in the first case, and some who again came to the surface of the water were too dazed or crippled to make a struggle. One of the survivors, despite his awful, experience, •was cheerful when seen in the hospital -a few hours later. He was lying with his head bandaged, attended by his wife and child. '{ The first thing I knew," he said,. "was being plunged into the ice-cold water. I sank about 20ft, I think-When I came up the electric light Had gone out; all was in darkness. I struck a piece of timber, which kept me afloat. I found several others in the same position, and I heard one groaning in terrible agony. The water was rising quickly, and I get hold of ; a chain at the side and climbed with the water. It seemed hours before I saw a little flickering light coming down. It was a welcome ray of hope. . By the light of the lamp, ae it grot lower, I saw several others in the water, some dead. Half an hour later the rescue party reached us and took us up." The bodies of the men who lost their lives were recovered from the shaft-