The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1880-12-14 00:00:00

Terrible Colliery Explosion in

Wales.

LOSS OF NEARLY NINETY LIVE 9.
A toritile explosion took .place on Friday morning at
the Nevid Steam Coal °Autry, • pit near Pen.y.graig,
where 143 men had goae doyen to work but • few hours
previously; the number of thoso who were in th- pit at
the time being, however, ream-eel by two who had come
iWt in. Tir• Pit. wioch i• the property of Maim.
ieland. lied Korvin, te 450 eerti• in depth, •ed I. but
helf acide front the Dina Colliery. where 57 bodies
still remelt) unreonsered sine • b • explmirm tel January
131 h, INTS. At bell-pail nine on Friday night the teenager
or the colliery, Mr. narked Rowlands, brother of on. of
the nreorbstore. recoired G T• p .rt frn, Doll Lewis end
Derid Lodwick, the nigh' teat everything w g
all I Olt h..1.1W oth ti pits B tweet' one and two it click
this morning the whole n, 'Abbott/livid for mile. round
was startled by hearing • most terrific report, which
sceoed through the mountains, end was heard at Tonyre-
fal, • village four miles distant. Its a very shoot time the
-bole country ess a 11.,, and thononde of workmen who
had lees awakened teem heir beets by the coot:notion,
the mow for which they could divine only too truly, were
soon hurrrlug to tle nate of the digester, each carrying
a lighted Dery lamp to guide them through the darkness
of this night. The ye Is were al-o thronged with Poor
wailing women whose Metre. either husbands or boon
hat left an hour or so ago for the fatal shaft.
/omit tee o'clock Messer. Thomas W. Ryan. and David
of R ithin, cwermen, volunteered te descend the
doereait in • bucket attached to • wire rope. They went
down four hundred Fade when the, came to an immense
hasp ot boarding which had fallen from the top of the
abaft, and which put estop to their further descent It
we. celculated that the beep we. twenty yards in depth,
but they shoots{ to any who might be alive below, and in
• few ac.inds beard • faint imposee from the bottom
of the shaft Meanwhile the most intense &axial
was evisoed by the thotorands waiting on the airfare
for the return of the two NATO explorers. The aped of
the vast throng as they stood in the dark night on the
sloplbg declivity the shaft—those in frost trying
vainly by the ht of their "Davy's' to peer into the
grim blackness low—was awfully imposing. As the
returned bucket approached the gerfaas the coca paJnf,l
stillness prevailed, end when the two men steppesf oat of
the bucket, and reported that voices had been heard la
reply to their shouts, a mighty Nigh of relief and horn
escaped from the Inuit ittid•. Preparations we,, then com-
menced to dewend again the purpose of peastrating
mialble through the debris lying at the bottom, and for
this dangerous teak there gallant fellows volunteering.
vie , Seas hulking' (leader), William Williams, and
Thomas North% As they stepped into the bucket prepared
for the descent, with brawny arms bared and with their
faces wearing • resolute expression to do or die, the most
lively emotion was evinced by their comrades, every one
of whom would without • moment's hearsay have
ancompatied theta to attempt • emcee were it practicable.
On reaching the top of the debris the three volunteer, left
the bucket and stepped on the rubbish, shouting like their
to those below, and were rewarded by hear-
shout, The three gallant Wears Mena* commenced their task of cutting a way through a hasp,
which consisted of broken timber and stonee. By able
o'clock they reached the baton, working theft way
through a einem %obi made in the lasomes pile. Frem the bottom they then commenced cutting their way in the
direction from which they had heard the &mita. Maytag
made another hole fifteen feet in legal' May broke tato
the awn, and could hear touvereatios being carried on.
Groping I. the darkness, aided by the mead of the voids;
found four men, who were alive, but is a semi-
they
rions condition. These four men, T. Ns,tie,J aSnag. D. Mammy, and David Jenkins, were assisted through the
holes to the top of the debris. and were tbea brought to
bank at 10 o'clock. It is impossible to describe the
'mating scene witnessed on the pit beak as the wives and
children of the rescued men recognised In the blackelasA
features of the exhausted creatures assisted hen Ilkagium the beloved farm of father end husband. Tit the. it
appeared verily as • retain from the 'al* of the &MeV
of death, and their expreeMous of thank! Wades were
affecting in the extreme. in the montane another galled heal orexplorers bad demanded the Name shaft three. quarters of • mile to the south-west nig party consietel of Kr. 1). Thome; Albert medalist of the tout class, Mc
E. Thomas maids, Ball, Mr. W, Cillilowsy, late deputy-
inspector of mines for South Wale; and now manager at
Dina °ornate': Mr. The. Griffith; =imager of °metes
Oollesies; and 11,. Jobs Hanard, underground manager of
the Glamorgan C .llkwy Company. It wag through the up.
cat that the terrible blast bad spent its masa faro;
This eaccad bend of gallant explorers travemed the road.
way between the two 'halts, and lheoecn• they wmineeesd
by the Pale glimmer of their lamps bales all deelption,
Sixteen deed bodies were discovered in • kneeling position,
death having tome to them all while they were seamed in prayer. One body, that of David Lloy& lampimani was
found in the doorway of the also in the attitude
of prayer, one of his arm.ender leg • young lad, be %out
to protect him from harm. Lloyd was an old teak
exaesdingly well known in the district, elate he Itedizegat
the whale of his life is quiet !Malty. fleetsta:N
some of which were fearfully burnt. were takhaaakt once and deposited in a temporary deaelelsonse, which had
been constructed dim by the Sofhe Miner Pit. Some
of the bodies are so fearftillY burnt as to be almost en.
recogniesble.
The lihondda Valley hast always borne an evil remote for
the eevirity of ite Iri onently recurring entijety explosion'.
The Naval Steam Colliery, at Pen-r-gralr, is almost close
to the Dina" Pit, where an expiration marred two years
ago, as recorded above. RIO, of the Purrivnrs of that
terrible digester were working in the fatal Pen.r-grals
Pit on Thursday night when the exidesioa occurred. The
mine is partly new, the downcast shaft Wog in consistence
with the sew workings and the unmet shaft with the old.
Tim two abate are ',bout half -a-mile apart, and while the
pit Isee • depth of 450 Yards, the nee shalt has been sank
• depth of 413 yard.. The output of steam coal from the
colliery has been very large.
The severity of the explosion on this ogoesioa may be
intaitioed from the fact that Thome. Morgan, • ban
at the top of the downcast, wise rendered ineensiblett:
forme of the explosion, and was getrerelr cut end bruised.
It hag Jut been tilicially announced that the number lost
te not Ifts• than St So feartullr burnt are many of the
bodies that the boot" of drained have been taken to the
be.,, of thoag bereaved with a view to identify the
Nearly the whole of the bodies were found to
V:aisist of As main roadway, where the farce of the an.
r,o• me to have been very great Selxbm• dead
d -. with, and the party of *Lay proprietors
ee nel.”l at the wan Omit kaseellied the Do
a.
being In a state of great dienrfier, the roadways having
beee egekot,ftly dyeased. aad malty hear) fella Itavieg
ocoucred. 'the ventilation was, however. good. Either°
the rofitery hee Non exc.? WIWI/ fortenale in Its freedom
re!‘) aileidest•. The misses ere almost unanimous is
II , tag rod name. It is, however well known that
tbe steam rota. ore very t(ery, ensile ha leo r..noet lair Mal "ft's ingpeeter frr the district, Mr.
•WeleA ndoeened en tide axonal the um of gunpowder
esiX netted ll h...
Nottieiley the Queen sent a menage of empathy to
Nome,* in the Rhondda Valley, the scene of the
terrible colliery explo•Stin nFriday. i ine more survivor
--tut old man Liaised David litonzan —lmo loan taken (rota
the pit, making five in all. Kirwan, who WM brought
up on Saturday afternoon, was working lea bee ID, close
to the downcast "haft at the time itf the exploelon,
When the roof colapied some pieces of timber in falling
formed • surt of arch above in so that he was
ptratiye y speaking, uninjured. thutmh the shock to his
gyetent is necessarily severe. It was hoped that other
survivors would lie foetid by the explorer, hut th
expectatiou haa not been make I. Down to Mit evenin-
GI bodies hal been recovered. The others cann..l it;
atazhtmay up untuiplysome a upcdutemell!tniule resicpus di —is worm
amtsgman
cleat tap lath.) 1111121kft Ural Ind
' • •• "

LATEST.
CABINETuasz
COUNCIL
A Cabinet Council, 10,. which
'notedly issued last avght, rasmafttill4sl
at three.

A Cabinet Council war hel4 at tan,
afternoon, all the members beutg pr,itut
MR. FORSTia
Mr. Forster returned to Labium frit
(Monday) morning.
THZ COLLIRRY

RipLo6l4,

Tbe Coroner foe Penyßreig district the helmet this (Moedar) morteeg. 6;44 recovered mime Led eight
HEALTH OF LORD RIN
Informatiee bee been received Lerd h.„,,t6i
Ailing that Ripoe teed, 4,
(MeodeA