The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-02-26 00:00:00

COLLIERY ACCIDENT IN WALES.
FIFTY MEN ENTOMBED.

PONTYPRIDD, Friday Night.
A terrible explosion occurred to-night at Cwtch
Colliery, Rhondda Vach. The catastrophe occurred
at about seven o'clock. The report shook buildings a
mile away, and even on the Penrhyn Mountain, miles
off, the shock was felt. The pit carriages were shot up,
and one was shattered. Three persons on the top of the
pit were injured by the flying dObris. There were at the
time about 52 men below, the residue of the day
shift, who had not come up. Several hundred had
just before ascended, and by pure accident 200 had
not gone down, being delayed by the carriage coming
up with coal. The whole of the interior of the
abaft was wrecked, and for four hours it was
found impossible to make any descent. At
about ten o'clock an attempt is being made to
descend. Nothing is known of the fate of the
men below. One man's voice was heard two hundred
yards from the top of the No. 2 feet seam, the
locality of the disaster, calling out, but what it was
impossible to say. Great excitement prevails. There
can be no doubt the explosion was due to gas,
but how the accumulation occurred is a mystery,
as the manager was down during the day, and
all was safe. The pit bank is crowded with the
men's relations and friends. The spectacle is
piteous in the extreme, and women and children are
(Downing the fate of relatives who are feared to be
lifeles3. The colliery has been working for seven
ears, and the owners are Messrs. Watts and Co.,
proprietors of the Risca and other collieries. The
anxiety is intense as to the fate of the men below,
which includo four colliery officials. Safety lamps
are used at the colliery.:

A Central News telegram, deed 2 a.m., states: The
explorers have brought up 24 man alive. They were
all in the south workings. Most of them were
seriously burnt and cut. Not one man has yet been
brought out alive from the norch level, but the ex-
plorers have come across several dead bodies in that
part of the pit, and it is feared that all those employed
there, about 30 in number, have perished.

CARDIFF, Sunday Night. I
Although the number of fatalities is less than was
at first supposed, it transpires to-day that the number
of men in the pit at the time of the accident exceeded
GO. Of these 29 were rescued during the night by
the exploring party, and are little the worse for their
experiences. Eight others, however, were brought
to bank in. a serious condition, and one of them,
Thomas Griffiths, has succumbed to his injuries. In-
cluding seven more brought out dead, there are
therefore eight known deaths, and there is reason
to fear that the whole of the 19 or 20 men supposed
to be in the workings are also dead. In this way the 1
total deaths are brought up to at least 27.

FIRST LIST OF KILLED.

The following are the names of the dead no lying
above ground: Henry Wilford, saddler, married, one
child; Thomas Griffiths, haulier; Daniel Davis,
stoker, single; David Owen, married, five children ;
Walter Beavan, Imulier, married, with family; Frank
Bilbin, haulier, married, with family; John Price,
married, two children; Richard Arthur Ostler,
single. Over 30 horses have been killed.

LIST OF TIIE RESCUED.

The following is it, list of sore of the men who were
brought to bank: Richard Rees, 108, High-street;
Win. Williams, Pontygwaith; James Young, Trealaw ;
Gower Thomas, Ynyshir ; Stephen Morris, Ponty-
waith ; John Scott. Trebarwg ; E. J. Morgan, 65,
Windsor-terrace; E. Harwood, Hannah-street, Porth ;
J. Smith, Wattstown ; David Smith, Hillside-terrace;
Edward John, Wattstown Edward Thomas, Hillside-
terrace-: Edward Rees, 34, Furnace-street; Win.
Davies, Wattstown ; H. Jones, Ynyshir ; John White,
Pontygwaith ; Wm. Davies' no address; Wm. Mere-
dith, no address; Thomas Davies, Cymmer ; J. Evans,
Wattstown ; David Brown and Wm. Brown, father
and "son, Pontygwaith ; Edward Kenvin, Ynyshir;
Richard Coniff, Pontygwaith ; O. Rees, Hillside-ter-
race; David Steele, Pontygwaith ; David Davies,
Hillside-terrace; Wm. Reed, Bailey and Lewis Wil-
liams, Penylan-terrace ; WM. Pritchard, Wattstown:
Wm. Tucker, Hillside-terrace; Samuel Strange, Mar-
garet-street; Wm. Wilkinson, Llewellyn-street.
LATER.

Fifteen more bodies were brought up this afternoon.
At ton o'clock to-night another three were found, and
the inquiries made by relatives and friends, further,
leave no doubt that 11 more are dead in the mine.
These figures bring up the total killed to no less than
37. Several of the injured are suffering terribly, and
it is feared that they cannot live. Ventilation has
now been thoroughly restored throughout the pit,
and the remainder of the corpses will no doubt be re-
covered to-morrow.

TUESDAY.
It is reported that six more bodies were got out
yesterday, and that the explorers were within easy
reach of eight more. Ventilation in the working has
been restored. The total number of dead recovered
was yesterday 26; known to be unrecovered, about
12; injured, 8; safely brought up, 29. An inquest
was
.opened by the coroner yesterday, and, after
formal preliminary evidence, was adjourned for a
month. The workmen have passed a resolution
strongly censuring the practice at the National
Colliery of working extra time between shifts, as
fraught with danger to the lives of the men, and re-
quesoed. the management henceforth to discontinue

WEDNESDAY.
Four more bodies of the men killed in the Rhondda
Valley explosion were got out of the colliery last night,
leaving about 10 unrecovered. Neither of the last
bodies reached were burnt, though they were found in
the vicinity of the explosion. Amongst those found
dead are the official in charge of the blasting opera-
tions; The blasting apparatus was found intact, and
the shot hole not fired. This does away with the sup.
position of the explosion being due to blasting, and
leaves the cause unsolved. Several interments took
place yesterday. Several horses are still missing.
The explorations were to continue last night.