Mountain advocate., 1913-10-17
500 MEN KILLED
IN Mine BLAST
Explosion in Cardiff, Wales, COL
iery Causes Death and
Destruction.
LESS THAN 400 ARE RESCUED
Families Of Miners Rush to Mouth Of
Pit, Frantic in Their Grief and
AnxIety-shsft q Raging Fur
mace Of Fire.

Cardiff, Wales. Oct 15.-More than
500 miners probably met death in the
Universal colliery in the worst coal
mine explosion In the history Of Wales.
Official figures furnished by the com
pany said that there we're 931 men In
the mine and less than 400 of these
had been rescued during the after
noon, while the interior of the pit was
raging furnace>and hope had been
tombed men
Fire followed the explosion and
many Of the men who were carried
out alive we're so badly burned they
will die.
From 700 to 800 men were at work
In the pit when an explosion of coal
dust with earthquake force rocked the
surrounding country and shattered the
interior of the shaft. ALI were i'm
prisoned.
Fire which followed the blast was
controlled but later burst out again.
The mine is situated near Senghenyd
in the heart of the mining district.
Heroic rescuers carried out 1927 men.
after risking their own lives by ven
turing into the fiery. poison-laden at
mosphere of the mine.
700 Men lr the Pit.
When the blast occurred represen-
tatives of the Lewis Merthyr Consoli-
dated Colliery company, owners of the
mine. said that the day shift Of 799
men we're in the pit.
So violent was the detonation that
the country for miles around was sha-
ken as though by an earthquake and
from the severity of the shock It was
feared that all the entombed men had
been burned to death or been blown
to bits, making the disaster the worst
In the history of Wales.
Shortly after s o'clock, not long aft.
er the day shift had gone down into
the pit, the blast occurred Cardiff
trembled from the shock. fire followed
Fire Follows Explosion.
Fire followed the explosion and
smoke rolled from the mouth OF the
mine. A rescue squad was formed
and started into the mine, after the
flames had died down. They reported
that the shaft gearing had been de-
stroyed. The connections between
the fans and the interior OF the pit
were blown asunder. cutting off the
supply of fresh air. Other pumps were
rugged up, however to furnish fresh
air and blow out the poisonous
fumes
Soon the work of carrying out the
survivors began. Many of them we're
unconscious. Some had their clothing
blown off
Families of the miners rushed to
the mouth of the pit. frantic in their
grief and anxiety and determined to
sacrifice their own lives, If necessary.
in an attempt to save their loved ones
penned in the shaft.
Hundreds of other persons. led By
curiosity or the desire to give aid.
clustered about the pit mouth.
Doctors and Nurses on Scene.
Special trains and automobiles bear.
Ing rescue apparatus. medical sup
plies, doctors and nurses, sped to the
scene. A first aid hospital and a tenn.
porary morgue were erected; side by
side not far from the shaft opening.
The excitement grew TO such extent
that hundreds Of constables we're
placed on duty around the head of the
mine. Lines were formed to keep the
grief-stricken relatives of the seven
hundred penned up miners from dan
ger. The voices of hundreds of wom-
EN- and children lifted up in lamenta-
tions, mingled with the shouts of the
police and the leaders of the rescue
squads.
When the call was given for volun-
teers to enter the mine at risk OF thei7
own lives. hundreds OF miners dashed
forward and begged to be allowed &c
join in the relief work. Only tho
strongest and most experienced were
chosen
A government Investigation proba
bly, will follow. Owners OF the mine
began one. They expressed the belief
that blast had exploded the coal
dust which has a powerful explosive
quality,