A COLLIERY EXPLOSION.

Southland Times, Issue 3331, 22 February 1879, Page 2

A COLLIERY EXPLOSION.

THE KAITANGATA COAL MINE

great' ltdss dp life

(BY TELEGRAPH, FftOM A COERESPONDENT.)

KAITANG-ATA^ Fnu)AY,i^p.m

; ; AfearfuV.explbsiphbbciirredlin the Kaitangata, Gpiiiparty'^ coal niine',' between eight "and f nine ■ o'clock this mbming:; It; Tjlcw but a tremendous cloud of dust and smoke

from; tlie tutinel rV -ju3t,;:as a iWy nained Edward Dunn was entering it with liis horse; .They were both -"blown about, fifty yards clear of the pit's mouth, and the boy was -killed outright. There , are --spine thirty-six itieij^in^-tli(3'9iiHije.,\%nd:'n6ne-' : 'pf them are yet ■l'eooVered,) but strenuous efforts to get at'thefa' are; being r made.v Direcsy:; the explosion- occurred Mi' P; : B. Griffin, tt{e : -statiph-niiister, despatched an engine , fo Balclutha for -Dr Smithy : who arrived [ avx thin . t\yenty-^ve mimitesl '; ; .'; ■'. '-'■''''? ■;„■■■■■ ; -. : - . ■■v-:^..-;^.-.---: ; '..'\-^'i*A!rEß.; , " f The bpdie/s ire being; recovered; Fearful excitcinent prevails,, and th'e'scene is tmly heartrending,: 'and as the bodies' lire' brought- out the wailing, of .. women .and children is lamentable. Three . bodies have ;been recovered,: vizV^Chao. McDonaldy. son of Mr John McDonald'; Wiii. Hayes, a single' man/ and: Edward ABeadmore- who was married, and leaves two children. : ,: ~. By -.a singular fatality several of the men whoare in the mine -came from Wellington t on . -Monday > last,- and ; , ; pnly com-> menced work yesterday; About twenty of the missing miners are married. . ; , The gas is producing singular effect upon the men who are working to rescue the poor fellows. ? "'They aro threatened •' by suffocation, an&;when brouglit to the surface appear to be in a. semi-insane state, and dp; not recover for nearly Imlfran-hour. At firstithe. men rushed, wildly ito ; the work there, was ho order,' and in" fact ;.': the res?iiers labored under a' ffen2Jied l;excite- ; m^ent, and worked ' /till /they dropped exhausted: '.Now, Iv6\vevei'^ they systematically." : ... ; . . • y '.-; ■ .-.. ■■;:-" - i \ : uV;^-;'- :^ r :;r;'-,|i^O;p^\;, .. Four more bodies have been recovered, viz.,' those of Caleb' Bendsmore, a married inari,' who 'leaves ; four ;; children:; - David Buchanan, married ■, and four" .; children ,* John Gage, married^ and three' cfiildreri ; Johti' Clark, : married/' '• • They are • ; being conveyed to Jenkins's hotel by Constable Warring^, j '■-.! „;■■'■. ■•■;. .„ ; :j-- :.-,-a- . ; : ■'■•.,■■"■ .;, / 7;20p.m; The bodies of ,TlipMas Black, George, Jar'vie, and Thomas'^Frew ; have been recovered. All weYe'iri&fned with- the except' ;tion of Black. 'Since lv3o' no bodies have been recovered owing; to the foul air existing in the; drive. Mr ' ftbberfc^ECbgg, Mayor of Balclutha, telegraphed 7 at 1.12, offering to send' corporatidn workmen if necessary,, but they were, not required^;' "■■■ ! ". A Bpecialwe. telegram fipm; Dunedinf despatched; at ! rß;30 r conflicts^^with- - the latest 'frojMr Balclutha. '•■ Kv says^thelatest re , the ' l Kaitfirigata - ' Mn& explo- ■■ i sionis a tel^gr^xn^dated 6 p^ii., and; runs as fpllows;:^Hodge^ ; ;7the; mhnager, ! aiid i allthe menliaye been f bund dead,, except [Archie Hodge, the ; manager's son. . The mine is clear.-of damj) how. The, greater numbe.r of ;the; poor fellows werj?; killed; by';th&i-afier:.datnp^ : -..-Jiiiß.:Stat;o!i\tii^t;..-Mr t Twinning/a professional icoalt viewer, exr amiried the mine lastweek, .and, >no ; later ; than ;yesterdayj >told oue '""'of ibhe directors that' :: all" r ventilatioh : ; ai > rangemen : fe*''were ' perfect^ and every tiling -in excellent order" in th'e : mine. 1 : He could not pb'ssib'ly. cdni ceive . how , it ppuld have occurred. 'He^ went to ' Kaitah'gata tp.-day, and has : superintended the^;; an-angemeints; for get- ■ ting the : iii6'n->)utV ';";■.! .'"' . '•,.7,*!'- ''[- „.•■;'■'.■ '-\- The following (via Diiriedin) are ; -the latest particulars up to 9 .o'clbjek to-nigli-tj fully ■reliable^ of the Eaitangatii^ Goal-Miße;' explosion. Twenty-eight • -dead bodies have been got out of the mine. Four bbdies were^seen : at: that rhoiu*, .and were to be got but as soon as the debris .was taken 6ft them. The ; only one known for^ certain to be in the mine,. is Archy. Hodge, tlie'sbh' of the'manageivwho will np : doiibt be dead also. The^e maybs one or two more,' but it is noiikhown'decibiyelyhpw many were in, the only, persons who could give^positive information. being,"rtQf course, those in the mine, who are i'ifll killed. About twenty -widows are left by the calamity, -and fully -100 orphans:; 1 The scene at Kaitangata, and at the pit's 'mouth; as may be imagined, is a truly heartrendiugVohe. .''..,",.,■." . ...