Disasters

Explosions, floods, collapses and other major incidents at UK mines — including significant post-closure incidents in abandoned workings. Each record is researched to the same standard as a mine or terminology entry, not just a casualty count.

The 100 disasters most recently added, of 1696, newest first.

Disaster	Date	Type	Region	Fatalities
Walbottle Colliery explosion, 1816 On 28 April 1816 firedamp exploded in the Wellington Pit of Walbottle Colliery, west of Newcastle, and flame swept two hundred yards through the workings. The rest of the men got out through the neighbouring Blucher Pit, but thirteen men and eleven boys were found dead, badly burned.	28 April 1816	Explosion	Tyne and Wear	24
Monkwearmouth Colliery explosion, 1853 On 14 July 1853 firedamp exploded at Monkwearmouth Colliery, Sunderland, killing three men and burning several more. The mine was worked with safety lamps, but the overmen opened theirs to fire the shots for blasting.	14 July 1853	Explosion	Tyne and Wear	3
South Mostyn Colliery explosion, 1861 At about five in the morning of 26 September 1861, as the night shift was finishing, gas exploded at the South Mostyn Colliery on the Dee estuary, after the shed over its new surface ventilating fan had caught fire. Ten colliers were killed, overcome by afterdamp as they made their way out along the tunnel.	26 September 1861	Explosion	Flintshire	10
Oakeley Quarry bridge collapse, 1888 Shortly before noon on 16 February 1888 a timber bridge across an underground chamber in the old Welsh Slate Company workings at Blaenau Ffestiniog, taken over by the Oakeley Company seven weeks before, broke under four loaded wagons. Five trammers fell sixty feet to their deaths; a sixth saved himself by clinging to the guide rails.	16 February 1888	Haulage / Transport	Gwynedd	5
Coombs Wood Colliery fire, 1929 Early on 18 March 1929 a brattice-cloth ventilation sheet caught fire across the Manor Road at Coombs Wood Colliery, Halesowen, and cut off nine men in the South West Bottom Coal district. One of them, Jabez Edwards, crawled out past the flames; the other eight, who believed they had only to wait for rescue, died of carbon monoxide.	18 March 1929	Fire	West Midlands	8
Southgate Colliery cage accident, 1911 On 22 November 1911 the winding engineman at Southgate Colliery, Clowne, lost control of the engine while twelve men were being lowered. The cage crashed onto the sump boards at the shaft bottom and was twice raised and dropped again; three men thrown out were crushed by it, and every other man in the cage was hurt.	22 November 1911	Winding / Shaft Accident	Derbyshire	3
Moston Colliery man-haulage accident, 1940 On 11 March 1940 a man-riding train carrying colliers ran away underground at Moston Colliery, Newton Heath, Manchester, left the rails and crashed. Six men were killed and others injured.	11 March 1940	Haulage / Transport	Greater Manchester	6
Malago Vale Colliery shaft accident, 1851 On 9 August 1851 the winding rope broke at Malago Vale Colliery, Bedminster, then worked by S. Reynolds and Co., and five men and boys were killed in the fall down the shaft.	9 August 1851	Winding / Shaft Accident	Bristol	5
Malago Vale Colliery explosion, 1891 On the Sunday night to Monday morning shift of 30 to 31 August 1891 firedamp exploded in the Argus workings of Malago Vale Colliery, Bedminster, killing ten of the 28 men underground. The gas, released at a weighted roof, was fired at a naked light in a district where safety lamps had been ordered after an explosion the year before.	31 August 1891	Explosion	Bristol	10
Arthur and Edward Colliery inundation, 1949 At the start of the day shift on 30 June 1949 the workings of Arthur and Edward (Waterloo) Colliery at Lydbrook broke into the flooded old workings of East Slad Colliery. 177 men escaped up the shaft as the water rose to the cage, and five cut off below were led through the flooded mine to the old Pluds' shaft and winched out by hand that afternoon. No one died.	30 June 1949	Flooding / Inundation	Forest of Dean	0
Llay Hall Colliery explosion, 1881 On 8 May 1881, four years after Llay Hall Colliery near Wrexham was sunk, an explosion of gas killed the furnaceman and the pumping engineman, Alfred and Thomas Williams, and ten pit horses.	8 May 1881	Explosion	Wrexham	2
Pentremawr Colliery outburst, 1945 On 3 July 1945 an outburst of gas and some 600 tons of coal at Pentremawr Colliery, an anthracite slant mine at Pontyberem in the Gwendraeth valley, killed two miners. It was the first of the outbursts that marked the colliery's later years.	3 July 1945	Gas / Asphyxiation	Carmarthenshire	2
Dinas Colliery explosion, 1850 On 8 April 1850 two brothers, Shadrach David, 15, and the younger Idris, went with a lighted candle into an old part of Dinas Colliery in the Rhondda to look for a chain, and fired gas that blew them a hundred yards along the road. Both died about three hours later.	8 April 1850	Explosion	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Black Vein Colliery explosion, 1850 In mid-November 1850, just after the shift had gone down, firedamp exploded again in the Black Vein pit at Risca. Two young colliers, James Strickland and Thomas Edmunds, were killed and nine men badly hurt; one of them, George Perry, a father of four, died of his burns a week later.	14 or 15 November 1850	Explosion	Caerphilly	3
Black Vein Colliery explosion, December 1842 Less than four weeks after the explosion of 5 November 1842, gas fired again in the Black Vein pit at Risca on 1 December while the watchmen were clearing it. The watchman William Walker, trusted by the men above all others, and two colliers, Jennings Phillips and Rees Jones, died of their burns.	1 December 1842	Explosion	Caerphilly	3
Black Vein Colliery explosion, November 1842 In the early hours of 5 November 1842 firedamp exploded in the Black Vein pit at Risca, then three years old, killing two colliers, John Thomas and Joseph Smedley, and badly burning others. Another explosion followed there within four weeks.	5 November 1842	Explosion	Caerphilly	2
Cwmbargoed Colliery railway accident, 1844 On the evening of 3 April 1844 about forty colliers leaving Cwmbargoed Colliery crowded into a locomotive tender rather than wait for their usual wagon home. The tender left the rails and pulled the engine and train down a steep bank, killing four men outright and a fifth soon after.	3 April 1844	Haulage / Transport	Merthyr Tydfil	5
Cwmnantddu Colliery explosion, 1857 On Monday 13 April 1857 firedamp fired at a candle in Cwmnantddu Colliery, Abersychan, soon after the fireman had assured the men that all was safe. Benjamin Heritage died as he was carried out and George Holbrook ten days later; the inquest jury censured the fireman.	13 April 1857	Explosion	Torfaen	2
Weigfach Colliery explosion, 1854 On 31 July 1854 firedamp fired at naked lights in Weigfach Colliery, at Fforestfach near Swansea, and killed two colliers, John and William Davies, and a haulier, David Thomas. The lists of the dead record that the precautions had been neglected by the proprietor and the manager.	31 July 1854	Explosion	Swansea	3
Kilgetty Colliery (Grove Pit) shaft accident, 1856 On 23 August 1856, at the Pembrokeshire Iron Company's Grove Pit near Stepaside, then being sunk beside Kilgetty Colliery, the winding rope broke as David Thomas was ascending the shaft and he fell some sixty fathoms to his death; a beam that came down with it killed a second man, James, instantly.	23 August 1856	Winding / Shaft Accident	Pembrokeshire	2
Cymmer Colliery explosion, 1857 Ten months after the Cymmer explosion of 1856, two brothers, John and Thomas Jones, were suffocated by afterdamp after firedamp fired in an exploring drift at the Insoles' Cymmer Colliery, Porth, on a Monday morning in May 1857. The fireman had put up the danger signal and warned the men not to go in.	11 May 1857	Explosion	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Duddo Colliery inundation, 1857 On 8 April 1857 water from a much older working broke into Duddo Colliery, also called Greenlaw Walls, north-east of Duddo in north Northumberland, and drowned five men who had been below for only half an hour. None of their bodies was recovered.	8 April 1857	Flooding / Inundation	Northumberland	5
Benwell Colliery shaft scaffold accident, 1902 On 8 March 1902 two men renewing the timber in the Charlotte Pit shaft at Benwell Colliery, west of Newcastle, fell down the shaft when the bunton holding up their temporary scaffold gave way. It was found to have been held by a single nail.	8 March 1902	Winding / Shaft Accident	Tyne and Wear	2
Oakwood No. 13 balance pit fall, 1853 On 8 December 1853 a fall of rubbish down the balance pit shaft of No. 13 Oakwood pit, one of the copper company's coal pits at Pontrhydyfen in the Afan valley, killed three, two of them boys employed as trammers, William Williams, 14, and John James, 13.	8 December 1853	Winding / Shaft Accident	Neath Port Talbot	3
Brownhills Colliery fire, 1861 Before dawn on 9 January 1861 a fire in the solid coal of an airway in the deep workings at William Harrison's Brownhills Colliery filled the upper workings of the Red Pit with smoke. Four men and two boys, the youngest eleven, died on their way to the shaft; six horses died in their stables.	9 January 1861	Fire	Staffordshire	6
Brightside Colliery rope breakage, 1867 On the evening of Friday 12 April 1867 the wire winding rope broke as five men were being lowered into Brightside Colliery, Sheffield, to begin work, and they fell some 200 yards to the bottom of the shaft. The coroner blamed a hidden defect in the rope's manufacture.	12 April 1867	Winding / Shaft Accident	South Yorkshire	5
Barlborough Colliery roof fall, 1906 On 11 August 1906 two elderly datallers at the Staveley Coal and Iron Company's Barlborough No. 1 Colliery, near Clowne, were killed when the roof at the junction of a new road and an old one collapsed on them as they prepared to build a pack.	11 August 1906	Collapse / Roof Fall	Derbyshire	2
Warrickhill Colliery shaft explosion, 1857 On 6 August 1857 firedamp exploded in the newly sunk shaft of Merry and Cuninghame's Warrickhill Colliery, near Kilmarnock, an hour after a scaffold had been laid at the Ell coal. The blast drove the scaffold and part of the midwall to the bottom, and the two sinkers working on it, Andrew Fulton and William Neil, were found dead among the wreckage.	6 August 1857	Explosion	North Ayrshire	2
Pather Colliery explosion, 1867 On Monday morning, 7 January 1867, the fireman at Pather Colliery, Cambusnethan, went down with a collier to examine the pit after its ventilating furnace had been out for forty hours. They carried naked lights as well as safety lamps, and the gas that had gathered over the weekend fired at the naked lights and killed them both.	7 January 1867	Explosion	North Lanarkshire	2
Barncluith Colliery haulage accident, 1893 On the afternoon of 10 January 1893 an empty rake of twelve hutches being drawn inbye on the endless-rope haulage at Archibald Russell's Barncluith Colliery, Hamilton, derailed on a steep part of the road. The runaway hutch knocked out roof timber and brought down stone on two miners riding in the rake against the rules, Patrick Clark and John Wilson, who were killed.	10 January 1893	Haulage / Transport	South Lanarkshire	2
Holmes Colliery roof fall, 1865 On 29 November 1865 two roadsmen were killed at John Horne's Holmes Colliery, near Galston, while taking down loose roof on a new road through old waste. A thin layer of roof fell on one of them, and as James Angus and a workman named Wilson ran in to free him a second fall buried all three; Angus and his companion died, and Wilson escaped badly bruised.	29 November 1865	Collapse / Roof Fall	East Ayrshire	2
Holytown Colliery explosion, 1900 On 12 April 1900 a sudden break in the roof of a new longwall face in the Lower Drumgray seam at James Nimmo and Company's Holytown Colliery released firedamp, which a miner fired at his naked light as he ran for the road-head. Two brothers, sons of the fireman, were killed and two men injured; a second explosion followed when the gas reached burning timber.	12 April 1900	Explosion	North Lanarkshire	2
Ashgill Colliery explosion, 1874 On 30 June 1874 firedamp exploded at Andrew Spencer's Ashgill Colliery, near Larkhall, as the fireman John Findlayson and the engineman Andrew Forrest were putting in brattice by the light of naked lamps rather than safety lamps, killing them both.	30 June 1874	Explosion	South Lanarkshire	2
Swindridge Muir Colliery roof fall, 1876 On 2 February 1876 a collier, James Neil, and a boy, Blackley Woods, were killed together at Merry and Cuninghame's Swindridge Muir Colliery, near Beith in north Ayrshire, when the roof they were securing fell on them.	2 February 1876	Collapse / Roof Fall	North Ayrshire	2
Loudoun Colliery shaft accident, 1885 On 20 October 1885 two sinkers repairing a fire-damaged upcast shaft at the Eglinton Iron Company's Loudoun No. 2, Galston, fell to their deaths when the hemp rope lowering them and their scaffold broke. The rope, three years in store, had looked sound.	20 October 1885	Winding / Shaft Accident	East Ayrshire	2
Stonecraigs Colliery fall of side, 1883 On 1 October 1883 two young colliers, William Mullen and Alexander Bryson, both 22, were killed at the Coltness Iron Company's Stonecraigs Colliery, Cambusnethan, when the side of their working place fell on them at the face.	1 October 1883	Collapse / Roof Fall	North Lanarkshire	2
Craighead Colliery shaft explosion, 1877 On the evening of 11 September 1877 gas exploded in the sinking shaft of Wm. Baird and Co.'s No. 2 Pit at Craighead, Blantyre. The blast tore out part of the shaft's midwall, which fell on the three sinkers at the bottom 163 fathoms down, killing Hugh Burns and Patrick McGill.	11 September 1877	Explosion	South Lanarkshire	2
Dysart Colliery fall of coal, 1890 At half past ten in the morning of 25 April 1890 a fall of coal in the Earl of Rosslyn's Dysart Colliery, Fife, killed two miners, William Duncan and William Watson.	25 April 1890	Collapse / Roof Fall	Fife	2
Clackmannan Colliery roof fall, 1899 On 22 May 1899 a boy pony driver and a young miner riding on a rake of loaded hutches at the Clackmannan Coal Company's colliery were killed when the pony's tail chain knocked out a roof support and the roof fell on them.	22 May 1899	Collapse / Roof Fall	Clackmannanshire	2
Allanton Colliery roof fall, 1905 On 29 August 1905 two miners named McLaren, John, aged 45, and Richard, aged 19, were killed by a fall of roof in their working place in No. 1 Pit of William Barr and Sons' Allanton Colliery, Ferniegair.	29 August 1905	Collapse / Roof Fall	South Lanarkshire	2
Kinneil Colliery explosion, 1899 On 6 December 1899 two brushers firing their own shots in the Six Feet seam of the Furnaceyard Pit, Kinneil Colliery, were killed by an explosion of firedamp, in the same dusty, gassy section where three men had died the year before.	6 December 1899	Explosion	Falkirk	2
Kinneil Colliery explosion, 1890 At five in the morning of 30 August 1890 firedamp exploded at the Kinneil Coal and Coke Company's Kinneil Colliery, killing a sinker of 58, William Galloway, and an engineman of 73, William Whitefield.	30 August 1890	Explosion	Falkirk	2
Kinneil Colliery inundation, 1857 On 7 August 1857 the advance mine in the under coal of No. 24 Pit at Kinneil Ironworks, near Linlithgow, holed into the flooded workings of a colliery abandoned some ninety years before, and two men and two boys were drowned.	7 August 1857	Flooding / Inundation	Falkirk	4
Howmuir Colliery chokedamp accident, 1902 On the morning of 8 July 1902 a sinker reopening an old shaft at Howmuir, Cleland, slid down the rope into chokedamp; the Auchinlea Coal Company's manager went down after him on a hand line, and both were dead before help arrived.	8 July 1902	Gas / Asphyxiation	North Lanarkshire	2
Mottram Wood Colliery ignition, 1943 On 10 April 1943 methane fired at Mottram Wood Colliery, a small pit just north-east of Barnsley owned by the Barnsley Syndicate, and the explosion killed three young men.	10 April 1943	Explosion	South Yorkshire	3
Hodroyd Colliery roof fall, 1908 At the end of their shift on 5 June 1908, three men leaving Hodroyd Colliery, near Barnsley, were caught by a fall of roof as they walked through a pass-bye. The collier George Senior and the trammer Frank Church were killed and the third man injured.	5 June 1908	Collapse / Roof Fall	South Yorkshire	2
Carfin Colliery shaft explosion, 1891 On 26 November 1891 four sinkers were charging shot holes with dynamite in a sinking shaft at William Dixon's Carfin No. 1 when two cartridges, sent down still frozen, exploded under the tamping rod, killing Bernard Gillon and James Laird.	26 November 1891	Explosion	North Lanarkshire	2
Carfin Colliery chokedamp accident, 1879 Around midnight on 22 September 1879 chokedamp from the old Jerviston waste flooded the Splint coal workings of No. 1 Pit, Carfin. Three brushers stayed on to finish their work after the fireman warned them; one escaped in the dark, and Dougan and John Strain were suffocated.	23 September 1879	Gas / Asphyxiation	North Lanarkshire	2
Kinneil Colliery shaft accident, 1909 On 15 February 1909, as three miners at Kinneil Colliery, Bo'ness, got onto the cage at the shaft bottom to go up, a stone fell from an old working 123 fathoms up the shaft and crashed through the cage top, killing John Grant and Richard Fitzpatrick.	15 February 1909	Collapse / Roof Fall	Falkirk	2
Kinneil Colliery explosion, 1898 On 31 March 1898 a shot fired at the face in a dry, dusty and gassy section of Kinneil Colliery, Bo'ness, set off an explosion of firedamp. Charles Sneddon was killed outright; Alexander Hamilton and his eighteen-year-old son were badly injured, the son dying that evening and the father eleven days later.	31 March 1898	Explosion	Falkirk	3
Craighead Colliery shot-firing accident, 1883 On the night shift of Friday 5 January 1883 a shot fired to bring down part of the roof in No. 2 Pit, Craighead Colliery, Blantyre, went off before the men had got out of the way. The brusher James M'Dougall was killed instantly and the foreman James Donnelly died an hour later.	5 January 1883	Explosion	South Lanarkshire	2
Cowdenbeath No. 7 roof fall, 1912 On 24 August 1912 a miner and his drawer, John Bisset and Lenus Muirhead, were buried by a large fall of stone while driving through old stoop-and-room workings in the Lochgelly Splint at Cowdenbeath No. 7 pit. It was their first shift in the place.	24 August 1912	Collapse / Roof Fall	Fife	2
Ellismuir Colliery shaft accident, 1885 On 2 November 1885 two sinkers enlarging the shaft at the Provanhall Coal Company's Ellismuir Colliery, Baillieston, were carried 82 fathoms to the bottom when part of the shaft side gave way above the scaffold they were working on.	2 November 1885	Collapse / Roof Fall	Glasgow	2
Cambrian Colliery runaway journey, 1916 Early on 18 May 1916 a shackle broke on a journey in the No. 1 Bute seam of the Cambrian Collieries, Clydach Vale, and five trams ran wild down a steep gradient, knocking out timber and bringing down two falls. Henry Williams was killed outright and Jacob Edwards died soon after.	18 May 1916	Haulage / Transport	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Duffryn Rhondda Colliery roof fall, 1915 At about a quarter past two on 21 April 1915, near the end of the shift at Duffryn Rhondda Colliery, Cymmer, a fall of about six drams of roof came down as a journey of full trams was being got ready, burying the rider Cornelius Barrett; he was dug out after half an hour, dead of asphyxia. A second rider, William Watkins, is recorded as killed with him.	21 April 1915	Collapse / Roof Fall	Neath Port Talbot	2
Pochin Colliery roof fall, 1915 At about a quarter past twelve on Tuesday 12 January 1915 a fall of twelve to fourteen tons came down in a stall at No. 1 Pochin Colliery, near Tredegar, killing the collier Edward Lawrence Badmington, a leader of the local miners, and his fifteen-year-old helper Godfrey Edwards.	12 January 1915	Collapse / Roof Fall	Blaenau Gwent	2
Nixon's Navigation Colliery roof fall, 1900 At midnight on Tuesday 8 May 1900 two repairers in the Six-feet seam of Nixon's Navigation Colliery, Mountain Ash, were buried by a large fall of roof. It took several hours to dig out the bodies of John Evans, a timberman from Carmarthen, and Patsy Deneahy, a labourer from Cork.	8 May 1900	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Allanton Colliery explosion, 1923 At half past seven in the morning of 2 December 1923, in the first hour of the shift, firedamp exploded at William Barr and Sons' Allanton Colliery, Ferniegair, near Hamilton, killing two brushing contractors, James Hardie and James Ramsay.	2 December 1923	Explosion	South Lanarkshire	2
Oakwood Colliery explosion, 1920 In the early morning of 18 November 1920 an explosion of gas and coal dust in No. 15 heading of Oakwood Colliery, Pontrhydyfen, killed three men by afterdamp and so badly burned a fourth that he died four days later. The fireman had just fired a shot at the face; at the inquest he and the managing director both denied the shot was the cause.	18 November 1920	Explosion	Neath Port Talbot	4
Old Castle Colliery gassing, 1913 On 26 August 1913 two colliers examining the return airway of the Old Castle Colliery, a small level at Tonna, near Neath, were poisoned by carbon monoxide from a petrol engine working a pump nearby. Rescuers from the neighbouring Bush Colliery, its manager among them, were themselves overcome and carried out, and it took three hours and three rescue parties to recover the bodies.	26 August 1913	Gas / Asphyxiation	Neath Port Talbot	2
Dare Colliery roof fall, 1942 In February 1942 a fall of about eight tons of roof, partly one huge stone, came down on men straightening the conveyor in the Brunts district of Dare Colliery, Cwmparc, on the day shift. Four colliers were killed outright and others were injured.	19 or 26 February 1942	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	4
Cwmneol Colliery lift accident, 1930 On 17 August 1930 three hitchers at Cwmneol Colliery, Cwmaman, were crushed when the lift they were loading with drams fell. Two were killed outright and the third, Henry Harry, died in Aberdare General Hospital an hour after he was admitted.	17 August 1930	Winding / Shaft Accident	Rhondda Cynon Taf	3
Llwynhelig Colliery explosion, 1929 On 6 November 1929 gas was fired in the Llwynhelig mine at Cwmdare, Aberdare, burning the collier William Davies and his seventeen-year-old assistant Joseph Carter, who both died of shock and burns.	6 November 1929	Explosion	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Blaengwawr Colliery explosion, 1925 At 7.30 in the morning of 19 January 1925, at the start of the day shift in the Blaengwawr mountain level, Aberdare, gas that had gathered in a heading after the ventilating fan failed overnight exploded. The explosion stayed local, but three men were badly burnt and died in hospital: David Howells, William Thomas and the boy Thomas Jones.	19 January 1925	Explosion	Rhondda Cynon Taf	3
Merthyr Dare Colliery explosion, 1920 On 3 May 1920 a sudden issue of gas from a crevice in the roof of the Gorllwyn drift, a naked-light working of the Bwllfa and Merthyr Dare collieries at Cwmdare, was fired, burning a collier, Edward Richards, and his fifteen-year-old assistant, Trevor Samuel. Both died four days later in Aberdare General Hospital.	3 May 1920	Explosion	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Cwmaman Colliery roof fall, 1917 On Wednesday 2 May 1917 four men clearing a fall at the end of a double parting in the Ffaldau New Seven-feet seam at Cwmaman Colliery were caught by a second fall. The repairer Daniel Davies was killed outright and the fireman David Thomas died of his injuries; William Gough and David Cox were hurt.	2 May 1917	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Nine Mile Point Colliery roof fall, 1915 At the end of the afternoon shift on Sunday 15 August 1915 a fall of six or seven drams of roof in the East Pit of Nine Mile Point Colliery buried a group of men walking out behind the horses. Arthur Hanney and Thomas David Jones were killed and three others hurt; the injured haulier James Brown dug a workmate out and went back for the others.	15 August 1915	Collapse / Roof Fall	Caerphilly	2
Groesfaen Colliery roof fall, 1915 On Monday 19 April 1915 a stone fell from the roof at the Groesfaen Colliery, Deri, as two rippers worked under a staging after an earlier fall. Henry Roberts was killed instantly and David Cotterell was badly hurt; he died later in Rhymney Hospital.	19 April 1915	Collapse / Roof Fall	Caerphilly	2
Aberpergwm Colliery (Ladysmith level) roof fall, 1905 On Tuesday 6 June 1905 a heavy fall of roof in the Ladysmith level of Morgan Stuart Williams's Aberpergwm collieries at Glyn-Neath killed three repairers. The under-manager heard the roof crack and shouted a warning; he and two others escaped, but Evan Morgan, Jenkin John Jenkins and Walter Barnaby were buried three yards short of safety.	6 June 1905	Collapse / Roof Fall	Neath Port Talbot	3
International Colliery roof fall, 1903 At about four in the morning of 22 May 1903 two colliers, Samuel Cooper and Lewis James, were killed in the six-foot seam of the International Colliery in the Garw valley when some twenty tons of debris came down on them as they worked to improve the ventilation of an old stall.	22 May 1903	Collapse / Roof Fall	Bridgend	2
Tytalwyn Colliery wall collapse, 1917 On the afternoon of Monday 19 November 1917 the gable end of an old blacksmith's shop being pulled down at the mouth of the Tytalwyn Slant, Kenfig Hill, fell on workmen of the afternoon shift waiting to go underground. The fireman John Branch and W. F. Thomas died and three others were hurt.	19 November 1917	Other	Bridgend	2
Coegnant Colliery runaway journey, 1917 On Friday 11 May 1917 the shackle of a tram opened while a journey was being lowered on an engine plane at Coegnant Colliery, Maesteg, and thirteen trams ran wild down the incline. The repairer Samuel Price was killed outright and his assistant John Lyons died in hospital.	11 May 1917	Haulage / Transport	Bridgend	2
Blaennant Colliery haulage accident, 1905 On 19 July 1905 a sheave frame on a turn of the haulage road at Blaennant Colliery, Abernant, broke while a journey was being lowered to the shaft, and the rope lashed across the roadway, breaking the legs of three men. The master haulier David Peters died six days later and the hitcher William Williams also died.	19 July 1905	Haulage / Transport	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Bryndu Colliery roof fall, 1902 Late on the morning of Wednesday 11 June 1902 a stone some nine feet long dropped from the rock roof of a heading at Bryndu Colliery, Kenfig Hill, killing the collier William David and the seventeen-year-old filler Rees Wilkins, who died that night.	11 June 1902	Collapse / Roof Fall	Bridgend	2
Birchrock Colliery tramway tunnel accident, 1899 On Tuesday 26 September 1899 Mary Jones, the wife of a Birchrock collier, and the baby she carried on her back were killed by a journey of loaded trams from Birchrock Colliery in a narrow tunnel on the colliery tramway at Pontardulais, which local people had been using to fetch water during a dry spell.	26 September 1899	Haulage / Transport	Swansea	2
Cymmer Colliery roof fall, 1895 On the afternoon of Saturday 9 February 1895 a large fall of roof on the double parting at Cymmer Colliery, Porth, killed the haulier Albert Ford; Welsh Coal Mines records a second haulier, Charles Powell, killed in the same fall.	9 February 1895	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Great Western Colliery runaway journey, 1893 On the afternoon of Thursday 7 September 1893 a journey of rubbish trams broke away on the surface incline of the Great Western Colliery at Hopkinstown, Pontypridd, and ran down onto men repairing the roadway under the Barry Railway bridge. David Bassett, the oldest man at the pit, was killed and Harry Thomas died two days later.	7 September 1893	Haulage / Transport	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Nantmelyn Colliery explosion, 1893 Early on Tuesday 4 April 1893 an explosion of firedamp in the Four-feet seam of Nantmelyn Pit, Cwmdare, near Aberdare, burned thirteen men, two of whom later died. The gas was fired at a lamp that a workman had opened to relight.	4 April 1893	Explosion	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Cwm Colliery, Merthyr Tydfil roof fall, 1892 On the morning of Monday 18 July 1892 a fall of stone and rubbish from the roof of the main roadway in Crawshay Brothers' Cwm Pit, near Merthyr Tydfil, killed James Havard and William Jones of Cefn Coed and injured David Lewis.	18 July 1892	Collapse / Roof Fall	Merthyr Tydfil	2
Glamorgan Colliery roof fall, 1891 On the afternoon of Thursday 14 May 1891 a fall of clod in a stall at the Glamorgan Colliery Company's Llwynypia Colliery killed the collier John Gardner and the thirteen-year-old boy working with him, Rees Hughes.	14 May 1891	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Bedlinog Colliery roof fall, 1890 On the morning of Saturday 29 November 1890 a heavy fall of stone and debris in No. 2 pit at the Dowlais company's Bedlinog Colliery killed two young colliers, David Francis of Penydarren and David James Rees of Bedlinog, as they worked in their stall.	29 November 1890	Collapse / Roof Fall	Merthyr Tydfil	2
Main Colliery tramway accident, 1890 Early on Thursday 11 September 1890 a loaded journey of the Main Colliery Company's trams, pushed by a locomotive along the tramway to Dynevor Wharf near Neath, overturned when the wheel of the front tram broke. William Smith and William Waite, who had jumped on the front trams to ride to work, were crushed and killed.	11 September 1890	Haulage / Transport	Neath Port Talbot	2
Elba Colliery roof fall, 1889 On Thursday 18 July 1889 a fall of roof at the Elba Colliery, Gowerton, killed Peter Protheroe and Daniel Thomas almost immediately, though two doctors were quickly on the spot.	18 July 1889	Collapse / Roof Fall	Swansea	2
Ferndale Collieries roof fall, 1887 Early on the morning of Friday 18 February 1887 a fall from the roof of a double parting under repair in the Six Feet seam of No. 4 pit, Ferndale, buried two night men. John Francis was dead when reached; John Mantle, freed first with a broken leg and head injuries, died six days later.	18 February 1887	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Lower Duffryn Colliery roof fall, 1886 On the morning of Monday 5 July 1886 two repairers, Stephen Wheeler and James Tudor, were killed at the Cwmpennar (Lower Duffryn) colliery, Mountain Ash, when the roof came in on them as they cleared a fall.	5 July 1886	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
National Colliery roof fall, 1886 Early on Thursday 18 February 1886 a large stone fell from the roof at the National Steam Coal Colliery, Wattstown, in the Rhondda Fach, killing the rippers Edward Jacob and Gomer Williams instantly and breaking the leg of a third man.	18 February 1886	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Deep Duffryn Colliery roof fall, 1885 At about four o'clock on the morning of Tuesday 17 February 1885 a stone of about two tons fell on two colliers cutting coal in a deep heading in the far end district of the Six Feet seam at Deep Duffryn Colliery, Mountain Ash. Samuel Price was killed outright and William Hughes died on the way to the surface.	17 February 1885	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Tylorstown Colliery fall of coal, 1884 On the night of Wednesday 5 November 1884 a fall of coal weighing some 32 tons killed two colliers, David Morris and Evan Daniel Evans, at work in Tylorstown Colliery in the Rhondda Fach. A third man, Isaac Lewis, narrowly escaped.	5 November 1884	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Blaenclydach Colliery roof fall, 1880 On the afternoon of Friday 31 December 1880 a father and son, David Thomas, 60, and James Thomas, 15, of Tonypandy, were killed together at Blaenclydach Colliery in the Rhondda when a huge stone fell on them in their stall.	31 December 1880	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Cwmbargoed Colliery explosion, 1879 On Monday 15 September 1879 a small explosion of gas in No. 2 heading of the Dowlais Iron Company's Long Work Pit at Cwmbargoed burnt five colliers. David Griffiths, burnt all over, died the next day; Welsh Coal Mines counts two dead.	15 September 1879	Explosion	Merthyr Tydfil	2
Callands Pit boiler explosion, 1878 At about one o'clock on Tuesday 5 March 1878 one of the four boilers working the pumping engine at Callands Pit, Landore, burst. The fireman David Jones and a twelve-year-old boy, Daniel Fisher, were killed, and the engineer Thomas Griffiths, badly scalded as he ran into the boiler house, died that night.	5 March 1878	Explosion	Swansea	3
Prince of Wales Colliery haulage accident, 1877 On the morning of Saturday 15 December 1877 a haulage rope flew off its sheave wheel on the incline at Abercarn Colliery, killing Abraham Terrell and injuring a second man, Moore, so badly that he died later.	15 December 1877	Haulage / Transport	Caerphilly	2
Glyn Pits, Pontypool roof fall, 1876 Between twelve and one o'clock on Monday 27 March 1876 a stone of four or five tons fell from the roof of a stall in the Ebbw Vale Company's Glyn Pit, near Pontypool, on John Rogers and his son William, killing them both. A younger son working with them escaped when the stone grazed his boot.	27 March 1876	Collapse / Roof Fall	Torfaen	2
South Duffryn Colliery explosion, 1876 Soon after eight o'clock on Sunday morning, 27 February 1876, an explosion of firedamp in the Nine Feet drift of the Plymouth Company's No. 2 South Pit, South Duffryn, killed the fireman Ebenezer Parry and the engineman David Jones.	27 February 1876	Explosion	Merthyr Tydfil	2
Penygraig Colliery inrush, 1875 About ten o'clock on the morning of Saturday 4 December 1875 the No. 2 level of the Penygraig Colliery, worked by Rowlands, Morgans and Co., holed into the flooded old workings of the neighbouring Penrhiwfer Colliery. Most of the fifty or sixty men below waded out, but Zachariah Williams and his brother-in-law Thomas Thomas were drowned.	4 December 1875	Flooding / Inundation	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Fernhill Colliery sinking accident, 1874 At about two o'clock on the afternoon of Friday 14 August 1874 the stage on which a shift of sinkers stood in the new shaft at Fernhill Colliery, Blaenrhondda, tipped as they loaded rubbish from a shot. All fell into the shaft; most were rescued, but David Jones and Henry Lloyd, both from Cardiganshire, drowned in the water at the bottom.	14 August 1874	Winding / Shaft Accident	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Blaenrhondda Colliery roof fall, 1874 Around midday at the end of April 1874 a fall of seven or eight tons of roof killed a collier, James Lewis, and the boy Evan Evans who worked with him at Blaenrhondda Colliery, at the head of the Rhondda Fawr. They had just fired a shot to widen their stall for a horse road.	30 April 1874	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Dinas Colliery roof fall, 1871 In the afternoon of 21 or 22 August 1871 a stone of considerable size fell from a fault in the roof of the Dinas level in the Rhondda on a father and son, both named Isaac Johns. The son was killed on the spot and the father died about ten minutes later. The inspector found no one to blame, and the whole workforce attended the funeral.	21 or 22 August 1871	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Gethin Colliery roof fall, 1869 At about four o'clock on the morning of Saturday 22 May 1869 some twenty tons of earth and stone fell on three men filling rubbish in No. 2 (the Upper) Gethin pit, Merthyr. William Davies and Thomas Randall were killed on the spot and David Davies had his leg broken.	22 May 1869	Collapse / Roof Fall	Merthyr Tydfil	2
Fochriw Colliery cage accident, 1867 At about a quarter to eight on the morning of Thursday 10 January 1867 a cage carrying seven men down No. 2 pit at the Dowlais Iron Company's Fochriw Colliery was drawn upwards instead when the winding engine reversed. The sudden jolt threw four men out; two fell some 440 yards down the shaft and were killed, and two were badly hurt.	10 January 1867	Winding / Shaft Accident	Caerphilly	2