TERRIBLE EXPLOSION IN SYDNEY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 787, 1 April 1887, Page 25

TERRIBLE EXPLOSION IN SYDNEY.

By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.

(reuter’s telegrams.)

Sydney, March 24.

It is now stated that eighty-one miners were in the tunnels of the Bulli mine when the explosion took place. A number of bodies have been found which were not disfigured by the explosion. They were clasped in each others’ arms, and had evidently died from suffocation. Heartrending scenes took place at the mouth .of the tunnel as the bodies were brought out and identified. Van-loads of coffins have already been conveyed to the mine. .. , The search parties at the Bulli mine encountered considerable difficulties owing to the foul air. and they cannot yet reach the place where the greater number of the miners where when the explosion took place. The work of recovering the bodies is being carried on as quickly as possible, but no hope is entertained that any of the entombed men may be rescued alive. Steps are being taken to provide for the widows and families of the sufferers.

Later.

The Bulli mine is situated about a mile and a-hal£ from the township of Bulli. The mouth of the mine is almost filled by women and children, who are anxiously watching the operations which are being carried on to recover the bodies. It is impossible at present to fully explore the workings, as hundreds of tons of rock have been dislodged by the explosion. Many of the bodies of the miners have been driven several yards from the place where they were working, their limbs being broken and shattered. Nearly all the bodies bear evidence of burning. A most depressing gloom has been thrown over the whole township by the accident. Latest news from Bulli reports that so far 35 bodies have been recovered. It is understood that the Government will give assistance to the sufferers by the explosion. NARRATIVE OF A SURVIVOR HEROISM OF THE RESCUERS. Sydney, March 25. The following is the narrative of a survivor of the Bulli Colliery catastrophe : —John Cavill said that, in company with two others, he was engaged in opening a fresh connection between the grip and the western district of the mine, about a mile and a quarter from the opening of the tunnel. Whilst engaged in making a hole through a fall of stone, they heard the explosion. It blew their lights out, and the fumes smelt something like powder smoke, and at the same time they could see a light mist. They turned back, and there was a good deal of after-damp, which was very bad until they got to the bank head. They had only five matches, and experienced great difficulty in obtaining a light. Their escape was (miraculous. Most of the men in this district use j safety lamps, but further out in the direction of the opening open lights were used, but with great care. All the men who were lost were working

within a radius of 200 yards, and none but safety lamps were in use there. Forty-three bodies have now been recovered. Operations for recovery are slow and dangerous. Many of those recovered cannot be identified.

Melancholy processions have been Been all through the day, and the scenes have been most heartrending, distracted widows rushing down to the morgue to ascertain who have been recovered.

An immense funeral of all the bodies found will take place this afternoon. i

Arrangements are beiDg made to open up what is known a 3 the .western district, where it is believed most of the bodies are collected.

The Minister of Mines proceeded to Bulli this morning. A correspondent thus describes the scene at Bulli yesterday :—People were densest near the tunnel mouth, but were also scattered over a considerable area of truckwav, and about the embankment were seated women bewailing the loss of those dearest to them. They had passed the night at the pit. Further on the houses of the miners were all deserted, and a few yards away, in a large stone house, on a floor covered with new mown hay, lay the bodies in rows, Most of them are badly bruised and some frightfully mangled, and without a vestige of clothing or hair. The remains of fallen rocks tell their tale of mutilation. On the other side stands the carpenter’s shop, where rough coffias are being made against time, the names of the victims being written on them in chalk. All this is being done in the presence of the widows and orphans. Rescue parties rush into the tunnel regardless of danger. For the first half-mile the air is good, and the tunnel pretty clear, but it gradually becomes worse, and the air thick and heavy. However, undaunted they proceed, over rocks and fallen timber, and in almost absolute darkness. The sides and roofs of the tunnels are twisted as if they were matchwood. Bodies are met with here and there, most of them beiDg covered with blood. Then the men of the party will be overcome and compelled to return in a semi-conscious state, but they are not taken out at the ,mouth of the tunnel for fear of raising false hopes. The cause of the explosion has not yet been ascertained.

RECOVERING THE BODIES.

RELIEF OF SUFFERERS.

Sydney, March 25.

The work of recovering the bodies at the Bulli Mine is being rapidly ca rried on. A 1 ready 56 bodies have been recovered, most of them being terribly mutilated. Several were obtaiued from the western drive, which is nearest the seat of the explosion. It is expected that the work will be concluded to day. It is now stated that the total number of miners killed is 83. Liberal contributions for the relief of the sufferers are being received from all parts of the Colony. Sydney, March 25. Latest accounts from Bulli report that seventy-five bodies have been recovered. It is now stated that only seventy-seven men were in the mine when the explosion took place. Large amounts of money are being subscribed in aid of the sufferers. EIGHTY-THREE BODIE3 RECOVERED. Sydney, March 26. Latest news from Bulli states that 83 bodies have been recovered, and it is believed that there are no more now in the mine. The search, however, continues.

Melbourne, March 26.

A special telegram to the Argus, from Bulli, says that miners complain of the number of unskilled workmen who were employed in the mine, and that the inspection was performed in a perfunctory manner. Sydney, March 27.

The work of recovering- the bodies at the Bulli mine is still being carried on, and up to the present 81 have been found.

March 29.

A meeting to organise relief for the sufferers by'the Bulli colliery disaster will be held at an early date. £3OOO has already been raised for this purpose. (From papers by Mararoa at Auckland.) (UNITED TRESS ASSOCIATION.) THE STORY OF THE DISASTER. Auckland, March 29. A fearful catastrophe has occurred at Bulli, which is about seven miles north of Wollonga. At half-past 2 o’clock on the after*

noon of Maroh 22, a terrific explosion took place in a tunnel in the Bulli Company’s mine. Seventy men wero in the workings, and itis feared they have all been killed. The tunnel is a long one, penetrating the hill a distance ■ of over one mile, and most of the men inside were working at the utmost extremity, known as the hill end. Here it ib that the explosion is sup Dosed 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 a boy named Herbert Cope, who had been driving i horses justj inside the mine, a distance of about a hundred yards. Cope was picked np insensible, but was found to have no bones broken, and afterward recovered consciousness, A Frenchman working outside was precipitated down tho embankment, but escaped serious injury. A pile of timber props outside the tunnel’s mouth was blown a considerable distance. These facts are evidence of the tremendous force of the explosion, and it ib considered improbable that any of the unfortunate men who were in the workings can have escaped death. It is feared that if not shattered by the explosion they must all have been suffocated by foul gas thus freed. As soon as the men working outside realised the appalling fact that between sixty and seventy of their mates were in the mine, a relief party waß formed. It consisted of four men, named respectively Lang, Chalmers, Scott, and Hope. The brave fellows faced the dangers of the tunnel without a moment’s hesitation. Those outside waited in suspense for their return. Shortly after the relief party had disappeared in murky darkness, the Bhocks of two small explosions, evidently tight in the interior of the mine, were felt, and added to the anxiety of those gathered round the entrance. After some time, Lang, of the relief party, 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 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 fall in, it was evident that tons upon tons of solid earth separated the inner workings from the wonld-be rescuers. It was at once seen that there was hardly 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 6 p.m. the dead bodies of Felix Bourne, ffm. Bourne, sen., Wm. Bourne, jun., Melville, two men named McKay and Wade, and George Ralph had been brought out/ The lemama were shattered and charred 'horribly. Meanwhile a large crowd had gathered round the mouth of the tunnel. Here the scene was of a most heart-rending description. The wives and mothers and children of the imprisoned miners / were gathered together, and their laments were loud and piercing. One woman was in extreme agony of grief, and went hopelessly mad, requiring restraint. She has lost two sons in the mine. As the dead bodies were being 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 appeared on the bodies. The clothes in many cases were burned to ashes. The hair was singed from the heads and faces, and the flesh roasted and shrivelled on crooked . stiffened limbs. Identification was almost impossible, though it was attempted by examining the clothes of those brought to the mouth of the miue. Five men were known to be lying abont a mile and a half from the pit’s mouth, behind what is known as the “Big fall.” At latest advices Mr McCabe, manager of the Mount Keira mine, with a strong relief party, wt.s in the mine, and did not intend to come out until 3 o’clock. The whole of the hill end of the tunnel is damaged, and for a considerable part of its distance the line is blocked, in some places being covered by 15ft to 16ft of fallen earth. The bodies as 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 who were eagerly waiting for news of their relations buried under the rains of the mine, or lying dead in the workings. There was absolutely no hope of any person, man or boy, being taken out alive, but the poor creatures at the mouth remained hoping against hope, and praying fervently that the sorrow of their neighbors might not come upon them. One distracted wife shrieked as she beat her breast and tore her hair out by handfuls, “He is not, he cannot be dead.” They will not realise the terrible fact—they refused to believe it, and tnrned savagely on those who approached them with a view of offering consolation. There is no clue to the cause of the catastrophe, and though an inquiry 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 one of the lately employed “ blackleg ” miners engaged near old workings had broken through, and with either a naked light or through lighting a match had caused an explosion on the hill end workings. The force of the concussion blew out the stoppings along the straight run, and the foul air and black damp were forced into the western drive, where about eight men were working at the time of the explosion. At 2.15 p.m. the day before it is estimated there were 51 old hands and 20 blacklegs at work in the western and hill end mines. Six horses were also entombed. The majority of the old hands killed were married men with families.

Toes were curled and shrivelled up, limbs stiffened and crooked, and eyes in some caseß burnt clean out. The special reporter of the Evening News says :—“This morning upon arriving at 4 o’clock I at once proceeded to the mine, and wont along the tunnel as far as I could go 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 quarter 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 this is impossible at present. Owing to the

presence of foul air this opening is temporarily stopped with canvas to keep the fire damp back, and a direct course of the supply of fresh air along the straight run. In the main workings the very greatest oare is required in passing through toward the place where the men lie buried. A lighted torch or a careless hand on a prop or a oap-pieoe, and thousands of tons of crumbling earth and rock may be precipitated to the level of the floor. As it is, the journey is fraught with in. tense danger, and thebrave men who are rißkin g their lives to recover the bodies of their comrades display a true spirit of heroism. The report was heard at North Bulli, three miles away, but few, except the old miners and women who had board 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 were gathered at the mouth of the pit. The town of Bnlli to-day bears a funereal 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, appealing to God to pity the >, and to men to aid them. What can be aone is being done, but the work of recovery of a few even of the bodies will extend over some days. All business is entirely suspended. Mr A. Turner, Bolice Magistrate at Woolongong, wired to the Minister of Mines at 8 o’clock this morning As far as can be ascertained, about 75 men are in the Bulli mine, but there is no hope of any bein<» alive. Six bodies have been brought out, “and five others have been seen in the mine, but have not yet been brought out. The managers of other mines are rendering assistance with relief parties.’ It is only recently that a long strike at the Bulli colliery was terminated, and the mine resumed full work. The full number of employes is about three hundred men. Bulli is sixty miles South from Sydney, and is a mining township situated between the Illawarra mountains and the coast. The Bulli Company’s mine penetrates the bill at a distance of about two miles from the sea. The workings are very extensive, and exteud for a mile and a half from the mouth of the tunnel.