FRIGHTFUL COLLIERY EXPLOSION IN SOUTH WALES.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXII, Issue 2630, 1 February 1868, Page 6

FRIGHTFUL COLLIERY EXPLOSION IN SOUTH WALES.

Saturday, Nov. 9. Fbendalb Colliery, at which the explosion of fire-damp took place on Friday afternoon, is situated in the Little Khondon Valley, near Pontyphdd, South Wales, and is the property of Messrs D. Davis & Sons, who ship the coal at Cardiff, Messrs Davis are large (colliery owners, and own two other pits in the district. Tlie largest is Ferndale Colliery, which is, indeed, one of the largest in South Wales — for the best parb of steam coal — employing 350 men and boys, and turning out some 500 or 600 tons o£ steam coal per day.

For some days in the end oflast week the weather was foggy. So dense was the mist yesterday morning that nothing could be distinguished half a dozen yards off, and in the neighborhood of the colliery, which is situated at the bottom of a valley, between two ranges of lofty hills, the fog was particularly thick. No doubt this state of the air interfered with the ventilation of the pit and Caused an accumulation of fir^e-damp. The explosion occurred at half-past one o'clock, and such was its terrific force that the concussion shook the whole mine. The report was heard throughout the valley. Flames almost burst up the shaft of the pit, with a cloud of ashes and stones. It was evident at once to those above that a firightful accident had occurred, and steps were instantly taken to decend the pit as soon as the state of the air rendered it safe. Messengers i were sent down the valley to the neighboring pits, and over the mountains to Aberdare and Merthyr, and from all parts of the district workmen rushed to the scene of the disaster. The manager of the colliery, Mr J. Williams, was down in the workings at the time of the explosion, and efforts were first made to find him, if possible, so that if, alive, his assistance might be had in directing operations for the rescue of the men. He was among the first found, but, unhappily, | quite dead, having been suffocated with the choke danip.^Exploring parties were rapidly formed and sent into all the workings, but the air was very foul, and they had to proceed cautiously for fear of another explosion, the pit having been so shaken that large quantities of gas had escaped. They were also met by heavy falls in the airways, and in many instances the men had to be dug out with pick and shovel ; the process was excessively slow and it was found that almost all had been suffocated by the carbonic acid. gas before the men could descend the shaft to their assistance. By 7 o'clock in the evening, only three persons had been rescued, and about twenty bodies recovered. Of the three hitchcrs employed at the bottom, two had been blowu violently into the sump and killed by bruises, the third miraculously escaping with slight injury. Relays of workmen were continually sent down, but the obstacles were more formidable than they anticipated, and the delay which took place— sometimes several hours elapsing before anybody could be got at — was productive of the most intense and painful anxiety in the people who crowded round the pit waiting the arrival to the bank of their napless relatives. The work of recovery went on without intermission during th«» whole night, many of the volunteers remaining at work until they could scarcely stand with fatigue. The bodies were generally recovered in batches of twelve or fifteen at a time, as the falls were removed, and then there was the prolonged interval of heartrending suspense. By four o'clock this morning four or five persons had been received above, almost all so frightfully injured that there is little hope of their recovery. Fifty-three dead bodies had been recovered. Seven valuable horses were also found dead in the drift, and brought out. At this point the work of recovery was brought to a stand, for the force of the explosion was such that the walls and roofs of the pit had been loosened, and enormous quantities of rubbish , kept falling in all parts of the mine, choking: up the air-ways, and absolutely cutting off all the communications. Tramload after tramload of rubbish and masses of rock that j had to be broken up with quarrying tools had to be removed, and this added to the delay. Tbus the whole of this day was spent in clearing a fall in the Duffryn level, behind wlrch it is believed there aro some twentyfive workmen. It is not thought that one of them can be alive, as the air current is completely cut off, and in the face of the working the atmosphere is so foul and dangerous that the working parties have to grope their way in utter darkness. Mr Curnew, the manager of the Plymouth Collieries, Merthyr, and who was formerly manager of this very pit, went down about eleven o'clock to-day, with Mr H. Lewis, of Merthyr, and remained with a working party in the foul air until 6 o'clock. He then thought that in the course of twelve hours the obstructions would be removed sufficiently to get at the bodies. Mr Curnew has determined not to leave the pit until (he Duffryn level has been cleared, and on Sunday morning his party will be relieved by a party under Mr Morgan Joseph, who will be succeeded, if it becomes necessary, by Mr Jones, until the men are got out. Operations will then be commenced for the removal of the men in the other parts | ot the pit, all of whom, it is feared, are dead. In the Duffryn district at the time we write commuuication has been established with two horses which were found alive, and water was supplied to them through a hole. It is hoped that these animals will be saved. | The distance between Curnew's party and the workings beyond the fall was calculated at seven o'clock to be about twenty yards, and to drive through it would take till to-morrow morning. Messages • frequently came to the bank that the air was exceedingly oppressive. The crowd at the bank— two or three thousand iv number — who had pressed up close to the pit's mouth were then sent back by the police, and barricades put up so as to have an open space about the shaft. A stream of water was also sent down the shaft, and about an hour after this had been done the report was received that the air was greatly improved. Mr Wales, her Majesty's Inspector of Mines for South Wales, arrived about three o'clock in the afternoon, and went down the pit immediately. Mr Davis, the principal proprietor, was present soon after the explosion, and went down the pit. He was also down nearly the whole of the day, and the pit has been visited by many viewers of the collieries in the adjoining valleys. The levels appear to have been injured to an extent beyond that of any other pit in this district which has been subjected to a similar calamity, so that, in addition to the awful and overwhelming sacrifice of human life, the proprietors will suffer a heavy loss in property.

This afternoon the Coroner for the county of Glamorgan, Mr G. Overton, empannelled a jury, and inspected the bodies of the dead. A visit to the desolate homes where they lay disclosed cases of the most distressing character, whole families having been swept off. In one house a father and three sons lay stretched in death as though they were

calmly sleeping, and a fourth son lay dead a few doors off, leaving a young widow in an agony of grief. In another family of six that went out well and hearty in the morning one only had beep brought back alive, and he will be a cripple for life should he survive his injuries. In some houses the poverty of the occupants was so great that they were destitute of the means of laying out the bodies, and consequently the corpses in all their ghastly disfigurement lay on the stone floor covered with sacks. In one house two lads injured lay on the floor as they were brought from the pit, the inmates fearing to teuch them lest they should kill them too soon. In most of the houses the distress and sorrow were intensified by the fact that others were to come to swell the list of victims. In all cases certificates of burial were given, and the funeral expenses, we believe, will be borne by the firm in whose service the unfortunate fellows have died. Orders were given by Mr Davis for an unlimited supply of everything requisite for the injured from the shops in the place, but, sad to relate, this generosity will not be largely drawn upon, for of all the 170 souls who were down the fatal pit at the outside it is feared only two can survive their injuries The colliery, which has not long been in existence, has been rapidly extended, and it is sunk to the celebrated four-foot seam ot of Merthyr steam coal, about three hundred yards below the surface. In ordinary work the colliery employs about 300 hands, nearly equally divided between the day and night shifts, and most of them reside in the Tillage, which is within, a short distance of the pit. It has a population of about 800, and has sprung up so rapidly that many of the houses are still of weod. It may here be observed, because it will explain how it has happened, that the details of an event which took place on Friday last have not been given, to the public sooner, that the Ferndale Colliery is five miles aud a half by road from the nearest station, Portb, on the Ehondda branch of the Taff Yale ; and persons starting from Merthyr or Cardiff at 8 a.m. cannot get to the colliery till after 11 o'clock. From Aberdare the distance is scarcely less, and the route over wild hills is one of the most rugged and trying that pedestrians can encounter in this county.

Sunday, Nov. 10. It is believed that the explosion took place in a heading where some 70 colliers were at work, and that place becoming filled up, the only means of exit was cut off, and the remainder who were»in the pit have been suffocated by the after damp. Relatives and friends are naturally loth to accept the prevailing belief, and they still cling to the hope of many being rescued, and they still linger about the pit. One poor woman was at the pit's mouth with an infant in her arms during the whole of Friday night, anxiously but vainly watching for her husband, who worked below, and it was not until yesterday mornins; that she consented to be led away. Mr Williams' death was evidently caused by suffocation, as he was not at all burnt, and his features were as placid and composed as if he were asleep. His body was found with those of nine others, all of whom have been recognised by sorrowing relatives. In another lot there was an aged man and his four grown-up sons, all brought up in rapid succession, and all lifeless. The coal trade in this district has been in a depressed state for some time past, and several colliers from so rue of the small collieries in the neighborhood of Porth have been working at Ferndale, and numbers of those who visited the pit yesterday and today have had to walk several miles to obtain tidings, if possible*^ relatives. An old and experienced manager who was in the pit during the whole of Friday night, says, although it has been his lot to witness the effect of many explosions, he never during the whole of his career beheld such a sight as that which he witnessed below. He is also of opinion that unless very great care is taken other explosions will follow. Many of the bodies that have been brought to the surface are frightfully burnt, the clothing completely destroyed, and in some cases portions of the body have been literally burned away, the charred remains presenting a sickening and frightful spectacle. At the time of the explosion 35 horses were working in the pit, and every one of them has been killed. Some of them had portions of their harness still on, but every vestige of hair was burnt off. It is difficult to conjecture what has been the cause of the accident, but it is feared that long immunity from accidents in the Ehondda Valley has made the colliers reckless of their safety. Some of the lamps have been found open, but some believe that this may have been caused by the force of the explosion, but those who are well acquainted with the construction of the safety, lamp declare that to be an impossibility. In the collery is a new stable, in which it is said that four carpenters? were working with naked lights. This is believed to have been the cause of the accident, as a large quantity of gas is said to be constantly in the pit. There are numerous rumors afloat as to the cause of the accident, but nothing reliable has yet been ascertained.

There is now some hope entertained that the number stated at first to be in the pit was somewhat overstated ; but gratifying as ifc may be to hare reason to suppose that such has been the case, the number of poor fellows who have been hurried into the presence of their Maker without a moment's notice will not fall short of 300. The Ferndale Colliery for many years has been most successfullyworked, the yield of coal having been al nost incredible, and employment has been afforded to some 300 men and boys. On Friduy last, it is said, some 260 left their homes to descend the shaft, as it has turned out, by far the greater part of them for the last time. Naturally accustomed to their dangerous occupation, no thought of what was about to happen in so short a space of time entered their heads as they descended without any fear of their safety or return, But very few of those who went down have bee a spared to tell the awful tale of what occurred below. The damage, which is something considerable, has been confined to the western workings, and since the explosion took place every effort has been used to remove the debins and restore pure air into the pit ; but few have been recovered since Saturday, although the most strenuous efforts are being made to set out the bodies. Nearly all the mining engineers and managers residing in the district have visited the pit and rendered whatever assistance lay in their power, and they have held frequent consultations us to the best meins of recovering the bodies in the pit, but not a Bingle one, it is thought, will survive to reach the surface in safety. A jury has been empanelled by George Overton, Esq., Coroner, and after viewing the bodies the inquiry was formally adjourned. At present it is impossible to state the exact number that have perished, as no aocount to be relied on can be obtained. Som£ say there are 170 in the pit at the present time, while others say that there are at present 253 bodies to be brought up. Should the latter number prove to be correct, the

extent of the catastrophe will rival that at Risca, which took place in 1860, when 141 lives were loßt. The vein in which the explosion occurred is the well known four feet rein, and is a portion of the new workings. The pit is worked on one level, and is about 300 yards deep ; but although the vein is known to be one of the most fiery in the district, the Government inspector, a short time since, spoke of the colliery as one of the best managed in the district, and the system of ventilation as perfect as it was possible to make such a deep and fiery working. The mode of ventilation was by furnace ; and the colliery, as far as we have been able to learn, was divided into two main districts— one to the dip and another to the rise. The explosion, it is believed, took place in the rise working, and those that have been saved have been mainly from the dip side. Immediately after the explosion the furnace either went out or had to be put out in consequence of the fire in it ; and here it, may be stated, is the advantage of machine ventilation, because although occasionally air machines get out of order yet when explosions take place there is no necessity for stopping them. Many of the poor fellows who were brought up alive have since died, and the number of deaths so far are 53.

Newport, Monday night. The mien are now able to continue their work, and are making rapid progress towards those parts of the pit where the poor fellows are imprisoned. Up to the present time no more bodies have been recovered. From the latest returns obtained it appears that of those who went down the shaft on Friday morning 137 are now alive, 21 have been drawn up injured, 52 have been brought up dead, and 116 are still in the pit. The hope of saving any of those is considered slight. [The latest advices state the total loss ot life in this explosion to be 170.]