| Date: | 1936 |
| Colliery: | Mainsforth |
| Cause: | Shot firing |
| Lives Lost: | 1 |
A hewer was killed at Mainsforth Colliery, Durham. A deputy, with 27 years' experience, was firing electrically three shots at the face of a jenkin 18 feet wide, in a seam 3 ft. 9 in. thick. He saw the hewer into a. place of safety round a right angle turn and ten yards along a skirting. The hewer was instructed to remain there with two other workmen until the three shots had been fired. After firing two shots, the deputy charged the third hole and connected the firing cable to the charge. On his way outbye to the firing station he saw the hewer still in his place of safety. The firing of the third shot was delayed a minute or two by a repair to the firing cable. After giving the usual warning, the deputy fired the shot. The hewer apparently mistook the second shot for the third, re-entered his working place and was within a couple of feet of the third shot when it exploded. The accident was due to the failure of the hewer to carry out the deputy's instructions; had the deputy, however, withdrawn all the workmen to a point on the outbye side of the firing station the accident would not have occurred.
| Source: | 1936 Mines Inspectors Report |
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