MineArchiveDisasters
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 1149, newest first.
| Disaster | Date | Type | Region | Fatalities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Udston Colliery explosion, 1882 Late on the afternoon of Monday 15 May 1882 a miner and his son driving a place through to a back drift in the main coal of No. 1 pit at Udston Colliery, near Hamilton, holed into gas with the manager and oversman beside them, and the explosion killed the manager, William Archibald, Charles Morrison and his son William, and badly burned the oversman. Most of the day shift had left the pit an hour before. |
15 May 1882 | Explosion | South Lanarkshire | 3 |
| Vauxhall Colliery explosion, 1873 On the morning of Monday 23 June 1873, while the Vauxhall (late Kenyon) Colliery near Ruabon was being sunk, two firemen sent to clear gas from the Upper Yard workings forced it into the upcast shaft, where the ventilating furnace fired it. Phillip Phillips and Edward Rogers died in the afterdamp; their bodies were not reached for three days. |
23 June 1873 | Explosion | Wrexham | 2 |
| Westminster Colliery gas accident, 1889 On the afternoon of Wednesday 27 November 1889 a fireman, a shot-firer and a collier went to clear gas that had built up in an old wicket in No. 5 pit at the Westminster Colliery, near Wrexham, after a fall in the air-road. They were overcome and suffocated, and the gas lay so heavy that rescuers could not reach them until the Friday. |
27 November 1889 | Gas / Asphyxiation | Wrexham | 3 |
| Westminster Colliery explosion, 1876 At ten past eight on the morning of 24 October 1876 firedamp from the old workings fired at the candles of three colliers taking out pillars in No. 4 pit at the Westminster Colliery, near Wrexham. Robert Smith, John Smith and John Lewis were burnt and died. The inspector, who had pressed for safety lamps, blamed the candles. |
24 October 1876 | Explosion | Wrexham | 3 |
| Gethin Colliery explosion, 1891 On the afternoon of Sunday 23 August 1891 two brothers named Morgan were killed by an explosion of gas in the Five-foot seam at Abercanaid (Gethin) Pit, Merthyr, after going into the return airway with a naked light. Thousands gathered at the pit head before their bodies were brought up. |
23 August 1891 | Explosion | Merthyr Tydfil | 2 |
| Bettisfield Colliery overwind, 1887 On the evening of Saturday 12 February 1887 two colliers sending timber down the shaft at Bettisfield Colliery, Bagillt, asked for the cage to be lifted so they could take off its cover; it was drawn up at speed into the headgear, the safety hook failed, the rope broke and the cage fell 280 yards to the bottom with Edward Pritchard and Daniel Roberts in it. |
12 February 1887 | Winding / Shaft Accident | Flintshire | 2 |
| Hodbarrow Mine roof fall, 1905 On 1 July 1905 fifteen or sixteen tons of roof fell without warning on three men slicing a pillar of haematite at the top of the Hodbarrow deposit, near Millom, killing the leading man John Phillips and his son William Henry and breaking the third man's leg. The elder Phillips had turned down an official's suggestion to put a leg under the hitch that gave way. |
1 July 1905 | Collapse / Roof Fall | Cumbria | 2 |
| Cannock Old Coppice Colliery roof fall, 1909 On 7 December 1909 a block of rock fifteen feet long and weighing over twelve tons fell without warning from the roof of a stall in the Brooch and Benches seam at J. Hawkins and Sons' Cannock Old Coppice Colliery, Cheslyn Hay, killing the stallman Thomas Hayward and the loader Charles Winfer forty minutes after they started work there. |
7 December 1909 | Collapse / Roof Fall | Staffordshire | 2 |
| New Wernddu Colliery roof fall, 1926 On the evening of Monday 13 December 1926 about eight tons of roof fell on three men clearing old falls in the New Wernddu Level near Neath, which was being re-opened after four years shut, killing the repairer John Philips and the labourer William White. Philips's son, working with them, escaped and raised the alarm. |
13 December 1926 | Collapse / Roof Fall | Neath Port Talbot | 2 |
| Cynheidre Colliery overwind, 1955 During the sinking of Cynheidre Colliery near Llanelli in late 1955 the bucket bringing three men up the shaft was overwound past the shaft-head doors, and two sinkers working for the German contractors Thyssen, Emile Sanner and Wolfgang Freiheid, fell nearly 1,900 feet to the shaft bottom. The third man in the bucket survived. |
29 November 1955 | Winding / Shaft Accident | Carmarthenshire | 2 |
| Ystalyfera Colliery derailment, 1947 In July 1947 two riders at Ystalyfera Colliery in the upper Swansea Valley, William Thomas and William Edwards, were killed when the two-tram journey taking them up a slant to look into a signalling fault came off the rails. |
July 1947 | Haulage / Transport | Neath Port Talbot | 2 |
| Marine Colliery roof fall, 1958 On 12 December 1958 the roof caved in without warning on the B7 conveyor face in the Black Vein district of No. 1 Pit at Marine Colliery, Cwm, burying the colliers Cledwyn Timothy and Idris Paul. Workmates dug them out and carried them clear seconds before a second fall. |
12 December 1958 | Collapse / Roof Fall | Blaenau Gwent | 2 |
| Ammanford Colliery explosion, 1943 On Saturday 8 May 1943 firedamp exploded in the No. 12 district of Ammanford Colliery, killing Henry George Heighway and Thomas B. Samuel, who were working near a pump. The inquest heard that the district had not been examined that morning and that examinations there were extremely lax. |
8 May 1943 | Explosion | Carmarthenshire | 2 |
| Nine Mile Point Colliery roof fall, 1917 On the afternoon shift of Thursday 9 August 1917 two brothers, David John Roberts, 24, and Evan James Roberts, 15, were killed by a fall of roof in their stall in the Rock Vein Pit of Nine Mile Point Colliery, Cwmfelinfach, when a dram being pulled back dislodged a broken timber. |
9 August 1917 | Collapse / Roof Fall | Caerphilly | 2 |
| Tynybedw Colliery runaway journey, 1916 On 17 November 1916 a journey of drams ran away down an incline at Tynybedw Colliery, Pentre, after its haulage rope snapped, killing two young men, James Granville Morgan and Oliver Samuel Lewis, who were going up the incline at the end of their shift. |
17 November 1916 | Haulage / Transport | Rhondda Cynon Taf | 2 |
| Adderley Green Colliery shaft accident, 1860 Early on Tuesday 17 July 1860 five men and boys going down the Meadow Pit at Stirrup and Pye's Adderley Green Colliery, Longton, were thrown to the bottom of the shaft when their cage struck an iron rail that had fallen from a scaffold during the night and lodged across the shaft. The colliery rule that an empty cage must go down first had been ignored. |
17 July 1860 | Winding / Shaft Accident | Staffordshire | 5 |
| Chickenley Heath Colliery rope breakage, 1857 On 26 June 1857 a three-month-old wire rope tore out of its coupling as it drew a miner and his young son up the shaft at Chickenley Heath Colliery, near Dewsbury, and both fell to their deaths. The inspector blamed a pulley far too small for the rope. |
26 June 1857 | Winding / Shaft Accident | West Yorkshire | 2 |
| Shortheath Colliery explosion, 1879 At about one in the afternoon of 12 November 1879 gas fired at a naked candle in a new heading in the Fireclay Coal at Shortheath Colliery, Willenhall, killing all six men below, among them the head engineer and a chartermaster. The manager was charged with failing to ventilate the heading. |
12 November 1879 | Explosion | West Midlands | 6 |
| Mesnes Colliery explosion, 1873 Shortly before noon on 21 November 1873 gas from the old goaf fired in the Yard seam of the Mesnes Colliery, the Barebones Pit, in Wigan, a pit still worked with candles. Three men and four boys died; the inquest jury blamed a collier's candle and called for locked lamps wherever lamps were used. |
21 November 1873 | Explosion | Greater Manchester | 7 |
| Withymoor Colliery shaft accident, 1864 On the evening of 16 November 1864 a winding chain snapped at Withymoor Colliery, near Rowley Regis, and a skip carrying eight men and boys fell about 70 yards with ninety yards of chain on top of it. The pulley frame had been leaning as an underground fire made the ground beneath it sink, and three inquest juries blamed three different men. |
16 November 1864 | Winding / Shaft Accident | West Midlands | 8 |
| Old Bradley Colliery inrush, 1862 On 30 May 1862 water lying in the flooded Thick Coal workings of G. B. Thorneycroft and Company's Old Bradley Colliery at Bilston burst into a draining level driven just beneath them and swept seven men and boys into the shaft. The manager was found to have neglected the boreholes that would have given warning. |
30 May 1862 | Flooding / Inundation | West Midlands | 7 |
| Benston Colliery inrush, 1860 On the morning of 23 October 1860 water from unmapped old workings broke into the Benston pit on the Johnstone estate in Renfrewshire. About forty men near the breach reached the shaft, the last climbing the cage ropes, but five men and boys were drowned. |
23 October 1860 | Flooding / Inundation | Renfrewshire | 5 |
| Gwane Colliery explosion, 1857 On 10 September 1857 gas that had filled the far crop-side stalls of Gwane Colliery, by the Rowley Regis hills near Dudley, after a roof fall choked the airway exploded and killed nine. The inspector had told the owner months before that the pit's intake road was too narrow, and the owner had not acted. |
10 September 1857 | Explosion | West Midlands | 9 |
| Sankey Brook Colliery shaft accident, 1857 On 11 June 1857 six men and boys were being lowered down the newly sunk Rushy Park pit at Sankey Brook Colliery, St Helens, in a wagon hung from its four corners when it caught on the side of the shaft. Two hooks came free and all six fell about 200 yards to the bottom. |
11 June 1857 | Winding / Shaft Accident | Merseyside | 6 |
| Townhouse Colliery explosion, 1856 On 13 November 1856 a newcomer at Townhouse Colliery, Great Marsden, fired his own shot with a powder squib; it flew into the goaf and fired gas, burning ten men, five of whom died at home over the following month. |
13 November 1856 | Explosion | Lancashire | 5 |
| Townhouse Colliery explosion, 1850 On 12 April 1850 six men were killed at Townhouse Colliery, Great Marsden, near Burnley, when they followed their leader into gassy workings before he had signalled that it was safe, and one of them took the top off his safety lamp. |
12 April 1850 | Explosion | Lancashire | 6 |
| Heathfield Colliery explosion, 1848 On the morning of 9 February 1848, soon after twenty-nine men had relieved the night shift at Salter and Raybould's Heathfield Colliery near Wolverhampton, the pit exploded; flame shot from the shaft and sixteen men died. The inquest jury returned a verdict of manslaughter against the doggy. |
9 February 1848 | Explosion | West Midlands | 16 |
| Ravenslodge Colliery flooding, 1892 At about ten on the night of 4 August 1892 nine segments of cast-iron tubbing gave way in the upcast shaft of Ravenslodge Colliery, Dewsbury. Water filled both shaft bottoms within minutes and rose 200 yards, drowning six men of the night shift; the furnaceman alone escaped. |
4 August 1892 | Flooding / Inundation | West Yorkshire | 6 |
| Hall End Colliery fire, 1884 Early on 7 September 1884 the face of the New Mine Coal at Hall End Colliery, West Bromwich, burst into flame at the naked candles of the night shift. Twelve men were burned and seven of them died in hospital over the following fortnight. |
6-7 September 1884 | Explosion | West Midlands | 7 |
| Titford Long Meadow Colliery fire, 1874 On the morning of 23 July 1874, as men at Titford Long Meadow Colliery near Oldbury played a hose on a fire in old Thick coal workings, a crash overhead drove a blast of intensely hot air into their gate road. None showed a burn, but five of them died of their injuries within a week. |
23 July 1874 | Fire | West Midlands | 5 |
| Norley Colliery explosion, 1852 On the evening of 24 April 1852 firedamp exploded in the Engine Pit at Norley Colliery, Pemberton, near Wigan, killing ten men and boys by the newspaper's count and twelve by the later account, most of them drawers aged between eleven and fifteen. The inquest heard that colliers had been working with their lamps open. |
24 April 1852 | Explosion | Greater Manchester | 10 |
| Ince Hall Saw Mill Pit explosion, 1874 At about a quarter to seven on the morning of 18 July 1874 firedamp exploded in the Nine Foot mine of the Ince Hall Coal and Cannel Company's Saw Mill Pit at Wigan while the night's shots were being fired. All twelve men in the Nine Foot and three waiting at the Four Foot mouthing were killed. |
18 July 1874 | Explosion | Greater Manchester | 15 |
| East Ardsley inundation, 1809 On Friday 30 June 1809 colliers of Lee, Watson and Company at East Ardsley, near Wakefield, broke into exhausted old pits while driving through a fault, and water flooded the workings. Ten men and boys drowned; four others were drawn up alive after three days and nights, a rescue that inspired a play. |
30 June 1809 | Flooding / Inundation | West Yorkshire | 10 |
| 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 |
| Union Colliery inundation, 1902 On the morning of 4 September 1902 a face at Union Colliery, in the Bixslade valley of the Forest of Dean, holed into the flooded old workings of Miles' Level. Most of the 67 men below escaped, but seven were trapped. When pumping let rescuers in on 9 September three were found alive after nearly 120 hours; four had drowned. |
4 September 1902 | Flooding / Inundation | Forest of Dean | 4 |
| 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 |
| 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 fall of coal, 1888 On 14 April 1888 two colliers at Llay Hall Colliery, near Cefn-y-bedd, were buried when a mass of top coal they were wedging down, having knocked out its props, came away with the clod above it. The inspector put it down entirely to carelessness. |
14 April 1888 | Collapse / Roof Fall | 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 |
| Healey Cote Colliery roof fall, 1924 On 7 July 1924, as the shaft siding at Healey Cote Colliery in Northumberland was being enlarged, a side stone fell and knocked out a prop, bringing down the roof. A boy of fifteen was killed outright and a deputy died the next day; the boy's father escaped. |
7 July 1924 | Collapse / Roof Fall | Northumberland | 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 |
| 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 |
| West Cramlington Colliery boiler explosion, 1859 On 15 November 1859 an old, lengthened boiler at West Cramlington Colliery blew apart into three pieces while it was being fed, killing a blacksmith and fatally injuring the fireman. The inspector could find no certain cause but thought a want of water most likely. |
15 November 1859 | Explosion | Northumberland | 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 |
| New Copley Colliery shaft accident, 1872 Early on 11 December 1872 four men got into the cage at the top of New Copley Colliery's 70-fathom shaft near Cockfield. The winding engine's gearing had been left out of order, so nothing held the rope, and the cage dropped freely to the bottom; three of the men died of their injuries. |
11 December 1872 | Winding / Shaft Accident | County Durham | 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 |
| Low Laithes Colliery shaft accident, 1890 On 23 September 1890 two sinkers widening an old shaft for the Low Laithes Coal Company at Gawthorpe, Ossett, fell to their deaths when the platform they were working on, 100 feet down, tilted as one of its chains was being re-attached. |
23 September 1890 | Winding / Shaft Accident | West Yorkshire | 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 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 |
| 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 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |