The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1878-09-14
DEATH IN THE NINE,
2S1 Lives Lost in n Welsh COIIiery.

LONDON, Sept. u, 1S7S.-England is now
passing through an era of accidents of the
most dreadful nature. The excitement and
anguish caused by the sinking of the excur-
sion boat Princess Alice on the Thames has
not subsided to any appreciable degree when
close upon it comes, tonight, the news of a
terrible coliery accident in Wales. To the
horrors of this new calamity England will
awake in few hours. The disaster occur
red yesterday afternoon at Ebbw Vale col
liery, Abercarn, near Newport, in Mon
mouthshire. There were 81 men in the pit
when the explosion Of coal gas occurred, and
at the latest accounts, dated nine o'clock last
evening, only ninety miners had been res
cued. 1t is feared there are no other sur
vivOrs.
The pit is still on fire and the burning
gas occasionally bursts out from the mouth
of the ventilating shaft Search parties
have been able to penetrate only few yards
into the main entrance to the mine, where
they encountered eighteen dead horses in the
stables. Beyond this point the fallen tim
bers and the blazing woodwork and coal
gas efiectually bar the way.
This disaster is the most terrible that has
ever occurred in Wales. The scenes at the
mouth of the pit are indescribable. Frantic
women who have relatives in the mines are
kneeling about the shaftway calling hysteri-
cally for the men who are known TO have
gone into the mine, but who answer not to
their names. The last nine men rescued
from the pit at about eight o'clock were bad
ly burned, some of them, indeed, terribly
disfgured. The dead body of boy, one of
the drivers, has been recovered. There is
hardly any hope entertained that more of
the miners are yet alive, although it is assert
ed that there is a distant part of the pit in
which refuge may have been found from the
flames. The poisonous gases, however,
would soon penetrate even to the most dis
tant place Of refuge and render breathing
impossible.
According to the latest advices the pit is
still burning, and the managers are discuss
ing the propriety of flooding it, as it seems
certain all the men are either burned to
death or suffocated. The flooding will pro-
badly be briefly delayed until the last hope
that any are alive is eXtinguished. The
number of the dead is estimated at two hun
dred and eighty. Two of the rescued have
since died from their burns. Others are In
precarious condition. There is not the
slightest hope Of rescuing any more alive, as
the workings are very intricate and extend
over three miles So far only about seven
corpses have been recovered. The explosion
occurred soon after noon. Those on the
bank knew it by rumbling noise and the
ascent of a dense volume of smoke. All the
people in the district rushed to the ptmouth
in CONSERVATION.
Reverting to the first of the recent calam-
tiles, was informed tonight that 62s bod
les had been recovered from the Princess
Alice and from the river. Cannon were
fired over the Thames at Woolwich, yester-
day afternoon, to bring up corpses. Several
bodies were recovered in that way. From
the above it will be seen that England has
her grieis and her burdens of woe to carry
as well as the United States.