Colliery Explosion

An explosion occurred at half-past 10 on Monday night in the Brockwell seam of Brancepeth Colliery, in the county of Durham, whereby it is feared that 16 lives have been lost. Brancepeth Colliery is situated midway between Durham city and Bishop Auckland, in the west of the county, and is one of a group of mines owned by Messrs. Straker and Love, of Newcastle. About 300 men are employed below and 160 above ground, and the colliery is worked by two shifts, the first from 4 to 11 in the morning and the second from 10 a.m. to 4 o'clock in the afternoon. The evening is occupied by a small number of shifters and stonemen, who put the mine into proper working order for the coal-hewers. On Monday night there were 21 men and boys thus engaged in the pit when the disaster occurred, and it is regarded as fortunate that the working shifts were so arranged that the main body of miners were absent, for otherwise the loss of life would no doubt have been much more serious.

The explosion took place at a considerable distance from the shaft, and though the interior workings were greatly damaged the shaft was not obstructed, and the man in charge of the engines above ground described what he felt as merely a "puff." It was sufficient, however, to indicate that something was wrong, and Mr. Weeks and Mr. Grieves, managers, Mr. John Rutherford, engineer, Mr. Dowson and Mr. Lowes, overmen, and others soon descended into the mine. They found the workings and the wagon-way and wagons damaged, and the coal had in some places fallen in, imprisoning the 21 men and boys who had been working in the pit. In the early hours of yesterday morning, four youths — Thomas Blackett, William Bird, James Mullen, and Thomas Cunningham — were rescued alive and taken out of the mine, and later on George Wilson, a married man with a grown-up family, was also rescued. As the day wore on hope was given up that any of the remaining 16 were alive, as they were entombed in an atmosphere rendered deadly poisonous by afterdamp.

The 16 whose fate was thus believed to be sealed are given as follows :— George Rutherford (or Lander), married, five children ; John Jefferson, Railway-terrace, married, with family ; William Cooke, Railway-terrace, married, with family ; Robert Ranson, single ; J. Rogerson (master shifter), with family ; H. Hodgson, single ; J. Rawlings, Albert-street, married, with family ; Tristran Spence, single, Willington (whose father was killed in the pit by a fall of stone recently) ; Ralph Lawson, no family ; William Lowes, Willington ; John Dowson, stoneman, son of an overman in the pit ; Thomas Nicholson, married, no family ; Thomas Lawson, family grown up ; Charles Linton, married, six children ; John Wearmouth, married ; and Joseph Foster, living with widowed sister.

About 9 o'clock yesterday morning one of the explorers, John Gilchrist, an overman at the neighbouring colliery at Brandon, who had been in the pit since midnight, had a marrow escape from death. He crept first over a heavy fall of roof and fell down on the far side suffering from the sudden effects of afterdamp. His companions bravely crept after him, and, joining hands together, dragged him out in an unconscious condition. He was taken out of the pit and medically attended, and it was believed that he would recover. During the morning many obstructions were surmounted, and the explorers found the first of the dead. They had crawled over a big fall, and 50 yards further on discovered a body which presented a shocking appearance. It was without head or limbs, and was dreadfully burnt. Practically the only means of identity was a latchkey picked up near the body, which was at first supposed to be that of Foster, but afterwards this identification was abandoned. Three or four hundred yards further on the body of the stoneman Lawson was found, also badly burnt.

The ramifications of the seam were examined, and soon after passing the place where the rescue lads had been engaged the explorers came across the body of John Rogerson, master shifter, and then that of Nicholson, a stoneman, who was only recently married. This was only the latter's second shift at the stone-clearing work, he having been previously employed as a hewer. A further discovery was that of young Dowson, who was well known in the Bishop Auckland district as a football player and was spoken of as a promising young fellow. The bodies of Rawlings and Spence were next discovered, and it was at this point that the accident occurred to Gilchrist. The rescue party well knew the danger they ran in pushing on, but they showed no hesitation in pursuing their task, nor were numbers lacking to carry on the operations. Arrangements were made for sending the bodies to bank, where joiners were already engaged in making coffins. Thousands of people were congregated at the pit-head, some of them making painful demonstrations of grief. Seven of the entombed men being known to be dead, nine remained to be accounted for ; but the mine had fallen in to such an extent that during the afternoon it was reported that it might be midnight before the block would be got through. Mr. John Wilson, M.P., of the Durham Miners' Association, went down into the pit early in the morning and again in the afternoon, and expressed the view that no hope could be entertained for the missing men as, owing to the wreck of the mine, the air was in a bad state.

The bodies which had been recovered were removed to the bottom of the shaft to be conveyed to the surface later on, and every effort was concentrated upon the removal of the tremendous fall that blocked further progress. The area affected by the explosion is stated to be a mile and a quarter, and the place where the missing men were believed to be was some two and a half miles from the shaft. This was the first time any serious accident had occurred at the pit, which is one of the oldest in West Durham. It is noted for the coke made from its coal, and has always been regarded as a safe pit generally free from gas. The fact may be mentioned that a colliery warning was issued from the Meteorological Office on Monday night.

In the course of an interview, Bird and Blackett, two of the youths rescued, whose ages are 14 and 17 respectively, said they went into the pit early in the evening to work about half a mile up in the Brockwell seam. They were employed in leading water from the pumping engine, and at the time the explosion occurred they were about a mile away from the other men, who were clearing away further in. Just after 10 o'clock there was, in the words of one of the youths, "a slight breeze," which blew the lights out. They had five lights with them — two safety lamps and three candles — open lights being frequently used in the pit. The lads thought at first there had been a heavy fall of stone somewhere, for they heard no sound of explosion. They sat still for some time, expecting the arrival of their mates. As no one came they groped their way along the gallery in the dark until they were stopped by a fall of coal. This they managed to scramble over, and about 20 yards further they heard some knocking in the distance. They answered, and then they heard Mr. Grieves, who had joined the first rescue party, shouting to them to lie quiet till the rescuers got up to them. In a very few minutes the rescuers came up and got them in safety to the mouth of the pit.