Fatal Colliery Explosion

Fourteen Lives Lost

An explosion resulting in the loss of 14 lives has occurred in the Glebe Mine at Washington, near Newcastle-on-Tyne. The shaft was cut a couple of years ago through a mass of semi-liquid quicksand, which was frozen so that the excavation could take place. There are three seams, of which the lowest is the low main. On Thursday night a number of men went down to prepare the working places for hewers next day, and in the low main seam, where there were 15 men working, an explosion occurred, and 14 of the 15 were killed.

The facts are simple. In the low main seam the ordinary shift men were not at work, but at 8 o'clock on Thursday night the stonemen, shifters, and others went down to prepare the mine for the "fore" shift men, who were to follow early yesterday morning. In each of the other seams men were similarly at work, and everything went on in its usual course for an hour or two after the men went down. It was just about 10 o'clock when the first intimation of disaster was heard at the bank. There was a loud explosion, followed by a rumbling which was heard all over the populous district round about the pit. So strong, indeed, was the shock at the pit mouth that the "waiting on" man at the top of the shaft was knocked over on to his back. At once he sent for the deputy, a man named Ingleby, who in turn informed Mr. Ford, the manager, of the calamity. Mr. Ford, accompanied by Ingleby and some ten men, formed the first party to descend the mine. The men in the two higher seams had heard the sound of the explosion, and had all succeeded in getting safely out of the pit without mishap, and it was only in the low main seam that any one remained to be looked for. Here there were 15 men at work. Arriving at the bottom of the shaft, the rescue party found all round them extensive indications of the force of the explosion. The timbering was blown down in all directions, and all over the seam there were falls of stone and roof, brought away by the force of the blast.

First to meet the rescuers' view was the pump man, a man named Yeardsley, whom they found badly injured crawling towards the shaft bottom. He was at once attended to. The air at this time was very bad owing to the prevalence of after-damp in the seam. Six times did the rescue party endeavour to force their way into the seam ; six times they were repulsed, and forced to wait till the air cleared sufficiently to enable them to penetrate. In the meanwhile neighbouring colliery managers and mining engineers, who had been telephoned for, began to arrive. Earliest on the scene were Mr. W. C. Blackett, agent of the Sacriston and Charlaw Coal Company, and Mr. Philip Kirkup, manager of the Birtley Colliery Company, both of whom descended the mine early in the morning. A couple of canaries indicated by their behaviour where the air was purest and it was possible for the party to make their way into the workings. Two of the rescue party, John Cowell, stoneman, and John Todd, overman, had before this advanced too far into the workings and had been so overcome by the deadly fumes of the chokedamp that they had fallen insensible, and they had to be carried to the shaft and sent to bank. Meanwhile, the rescue party in the low main seam had got in far enough to see the body of a man entirely covered by a fall. When he was extricated he was found to be quite dead, and was identified as James Wake, a stoneman. It was soon seen that all the rest of the men were dead. Their bodies were found more or less together in the seam, all of them partly covered by falls of coal and stone, and some of them sadly burnt and disfigured. With the recovery and identification of all the bodies the work of the search party was completed, and they were able to return to the bank early in the morning.

At the pit head distressing scenes were witnessed. It was about 1 o'clock in the morning when Yeardsley, the only survivor of the 15, was brought up alive and was attended to in the colliery offices. It was two hours later before the first of the dead bodies was brought up, and the remainder followed at intervals, till the last had been brought to bank shortly before 8 o'clock. During the morning the relatives were admitted to see and identify them. The following is a list of the dead :—

Several of the men leave large families, Wake, it is said, having 11 children, and Oswald six. The cause of the explosion is unknown.