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 1057, newest first.

Disaster	Date	Type	Region	Fatalities
McLaren Colliery roof fall, 1900 A fall of coal and clod killed a collier and his young assistant at the No. 2 McLaren pit, Abertysswg, on 20 June 1900, three years after its first shaft was sunk.	20 June 1900	Collapse / Roof Fall	Caerphilly	2
Gelli Colliery roof fall, 1902 A big fall of roof killed two veteran timbermen working an extra half-shift at Gelli Colliery, Ystrad Rhondda, on 1 September 1902.	1 September 1902	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Pentre Colliery runaway journey, 1894 A train of trams broke loose in a drift at Pentre Colliery, Rhondda, on 31 August 1894, killing a shackler and fatally injuring a door boy of 13.	31 August 1894	Haulage / Transport	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Cwrt Herbert Colliery roof fall, 1892 A fall of roof killed two colliers at the start of the night shift at Cwrt Herbert Colliery, Neath, on 20 July 1892.	20 July 1892	Collapse / Roof Fall	Neath Port Talbot	2
Great Western Colliery arch collapse, 1884 An underground arch being built at the Great Western Colliery, Hopkinstown, collapsed on New Year's Day 1884 when a prop gave way, killing the two masons building it.	1 January 1884	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Great Western Colliery roof fall, 1875 Falls of roof killed two men repairing a steam-heated return airway at the Great Western Colliery, Hopkinstown, on Sunday 4 July 1875.	4 July 1875	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Gethin Colliery railway accident, 1879 An engine on Crawshay's Gethin colliery railway ran into unlit coal trucks in the dark on 17 January 1879, crushing three lads riding on its front.	17 January 1879	Haulage / Transport	Merthyr Tydfil	3
Kay's Slope roof fall, 1892 The roof of Kay's Slope fell on two men talking in the roadway on their way out of the Blaenavon pit on 4 May 1892, killing both.	4 May 1892	Collapse / Roof Fall	Torfaen	2
Penallta Colliery runaway drams, 1913 Three drams of rubbish ran away down an incline at Penallta Colliery on 25 February 1913, killing a mason contractor and his labourer and injuring two more men.	25 February 1913	Haulage / Transport	Caerphilly	2
Gelli Colliery roof fall, 1894 A horse knocked out the timbers as two young hauliers tried to re-rail a tram at Gelli Colliery, Ystrad Rhondda, on 6 November 1894, burying them both.	6 November 1894	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Gelli Colliery roof fall, 1895 A fall of roof killed three men of a repairing gang in a roadway at Gelli Colliery, Ystrad Rhondda, on 9 March 1895.	9 March 1895	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	3
Caerau Colliery roof fall, 1925 A second fall buried an overman and a repairer clearing a roof fall at Caerau Colliery, Maesteg, on 5 October 1925; both suffocated before they could be freed.	5 October 1925	Collapse / Roof Fall	Bridgend	2
Windsor Colliery roof fall, 1910 A repairer barring down the roof and a haulier watching him were killed by a fall at Windsor Colliery, Abertridwr, on 5 February 1910.	5 February 1910	Collapse / Roof Fall	Caerphilly	2
Abercynon Colliery roof fall, 1913 A fall of about twenty-five drams of roof killed two repairers clearing an earlier fall at Abercynon Colliery on 10 June 1913.	10 June 1913	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Pochin Colliery roof fall, 1888 A fall of clod at the face killed a 19-year-old collier and a boy of 12 at Pochin Colliery, near Tredegar, on 20 August 1888, hours after the place was passed as safe.	20 August 1888	Collapse / Roof Fall	Blaenau Gwent	2
Cambrian Colliery shaft accident, 1892 A squeeze in the Cambrian No. 2 shaft at Clydach Vale pushed out its lining early on 8 August 1892, burying three men cleaning the sump and killing two.	8 August 1892	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Bedwellty Pits roof fall, 1881 A fall of stone killed a collier and his boy at Bedwellty Pits, Tredegar, on 18 January 1881, under roof that had been tested less than an hour before.	18 January 1881	Collapse / Roof Fall	Blaenau Gwent	2
Werfa Colliery roof fall, 1876 A runaway dram knocked out the supports and brought down the roof on two young workers clearing rubbish at Werfa Colliery, Abernant, on 15 July 1876.	15 July 1876	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Merthyr Vale Colliery roof fall, 1890 A fall of clod between the face and the gob wall killed a wasteman and his 14-year-old assistant at Merthyr Vale Colliery on 6 November 1890.	6 November 1890	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Merthyr Vale Colliery arch collapse, 1875 Two carpenters were killed and a third man hurt when an arch fell at Merthyr Vale Colliery on 29 October 1875, the year the colliery opened.	29 October 1875	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Park Slip Colliery explosion, 1884 An explosion of gas at Park Slip Colliery, Tondu, on 2 April 1884 killed two men, one of them the manager's son, and injured seventeen.	2 April 1884	Explosion	Bridgend	2
Gelli Colliery shaft accident, 1878 Two sinkers were killed in the Gelli sinking pit in the Rhondda on 31 May 1878, while the colliery was being deepened to the steam coal seams.	31 May 1878	Winding / Shaft Accident	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Graig Colliery explosion, 1925 Gas fired during shotfiring at Graig Colliery, Abercanaid, on 19 January 1925 killed a collier and his seventeen-year-old assistant and burned the fireman.	19 January 1925	Explosion	Merthyr Tydfil	2
Lower Duffryn Colliery explosion, 1867 A shot fired in a gassy stall in the Nine Feet seam at Lower Duffryn (Cwmpennar), Mountain Ash, on 2 May 1867 set off an explosion that killed two or three men, the shotfirer among them.	2 May 1867	Explosion	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Bedwellty Pits explosion, 1880 A sudden outburst of gas fired by naked lights killed at least four men at Bedwellty Pits on the evening of 10 March 1880, less than a year after the previous explosion.	10 March 1880	Explosion	Blaenau Gwent	4
Bedwellty Pits explosion, 1879 An explosion of firedamp at Bedwellty Pits, south of Tredegar, on the night of 2 April 1879 killed three men outright and burned three more, who WCM records as dying in the weeks after.	2 April 1879	Explosion	Blaenau Gwent	3
Tower Colliery roof fall, 1913 A heavy fall of roof in the new Coronation Drift at Tower Colliery, Hirwaun, on 16 June 1913 killed three hard heading men the day before the drift was to send out its first coal.	16 June 1913	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	3
Naval Colliery shaft accident, 1893 A cage carrying men to clear a fouled rope in the Naval Colliery shaft at Penygraig struck the obstruction and overturned on 14 December 1893; three or four men were killed.	14 December 1893	Winding / Shaft Accident	Rhondda Cynon Taf	3
Albion Colliery shaft collapse, November 1886 The side of the shaft being sunk at Albion Colliery, Cilfynydd, gave way on 4 November 1886, bringing down fresh walling on the sinkers and killing four.	4 November 1886	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	4
Albion Colliery shaft accident, March 1886 Two sinkers were killed by falling fireclay while working in the side of the shaft being sunk at Albion Colliery, Cilfynydd, on 24 March 1886.	24 March 1886	Winding / Shaft Accident	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Seven Sisters Colliery explosion, 1943 An explosion of firedamp at Seven Sisters Colliery in the Dulais valley on 25 March 1943 killed five men; the inquest blamed a broken electric safety lamp.	25 March 1943	Explosion	Neath Port Talbot	5
Cadeby Main Colliery steam tank explosion, 1943 A steam receiving tank burst in the yard of Cadeby Main Colliery, Conisbrough, in March 1943, scalding four men who had stayed on for maintenance work; all four died.	27 March 1943	Machinery	South Yorkshire	4
Abercarn Colliery shaft explosion, 1876 An explosion of firedamp in the shaft being sunk at Cwmcarn for the Abercarn colliery killed three sinkers on 24 July 1876, two years before the Prince of Wales disaster.	24 July 1876	Explosion	Caerphilly	3
Killingworth Colliery explosion, 1809 An explosion at Killingworth Colliery on 14 September 1809 killed twelve men, most of them by the afterdamp; it did not reach the shaft.	14 September 1809	Explosion	Tyne and Wear	12
Killingworth Colliery explosion, 1806 An explosion at Killingworth Colliery on 28 March 1806 killed ten men; George Stephenson, then the pit's engineman, watched it blow from the shaft.	28 March 1806	Explosion	Tyne and Wear	10
Abergwawr Colliery boiler explosion, 1869 A boiler burst at the surface of Powell Duffryn's Abergwawr or Plough pit, beside Treaman station, on 31 May 1869, killing four men and injuring four.	31 May 1869	Machinery	Rhondda Cynon Taf	4
Cwmdare Colliery gas accident, 1879 Three men were suffocated at Cwmdare Colliery, Aberdare, on the night of 18 October 1879 when gas burst from a choked drainage pipe they had opened; the overman with them escaped.	18 October 1879	Gas / Asphyxiation	Rhondda Cynon Taf	3
Dyllas Colliery explosion, 1894 A firedamp explosion in Wayne's Merthyr Dyllas level above Llwydcoed on 10 November 1894 burned three; a collier of thirty and a boy of fifteen died.	10 November 1894	Explosion	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Whinney Hill Colliery explosion, Cleator Moor, 1848 An explosion of firedamp at the Haematite Mining Company's Whinney Hill Pit, Cleator Moor, on 28 October 1848 killed thirty men and boys, nearly everyone underground.	28 October 1848	Explosion	Cumbria	30
Wearmouth Colliery shaft accident, 1862 Five men walling the upcast shaft at Monkwearmouth on 7 September 1862 were thrown to their deaths when the scaffold above them gave way and the rush of air broke two of the chains that held their cradle.	7 September 1862	Winding / Shaft Accident	Tyne and Wear	5
Bwllfa Colliery cage accident, 1878 Three men going down Bwllfa Colliery, Cwmdare, for the night shift on 8 November 1878 were thrown out and killed when their cage caught the side of the shaft and turned over, about halfway down a pit some 150 feet deep.	8 November 1878	Winding / Shaft Accident	Rhondda Cynon Taf	3
Golynos Colliery roof fall, 1878 Two brothers, John and Henry Williams, colliers, were killed together by a fall of roof in their stall at Golynos Colliery, near Abersychan, in early 1878.	January or February 1878	Collapse / Roof Fall	Torfaen	2
Meiros Colliery explosion, 1896 An explosion in the Brooks heading at Meiros Colliery, Llanharan, at about eight on the morning of Saturday 28 March 1896 killed three men and seriously burnt eight or nine others.	28 March 1896	Explosion	Rhondda Cynon Taf	3
Meiros Colliery explosion, 1891 An explosion of firedamp at Meiros Colliery, Llanharan, on the morning of 11 November 1891 killed two colliers and a boy as they reached their stall.	11 November 1891	Explosion	Rhondda Cynon Taf	3
Victoria Colliery explosion, Ebbw Vale, 1871 Gas fired at a naked light in No. 1 Victoria pit, Ebbw Vale, between three and four on the afternoon of 2 March 1871, killing nineteen of the 41 men in the Old Coal seam, among them a fireman who went down to look for his son.	2 March 1871	Explosion	Blaenau Gwent	19
Victoria Colliery shaft accident, Ebbw Vale, 1848 Eleven men and boys, the youngest 13, fell 85 yards to their deaths down the No. 6 pit of the Victoria ironworks, Ebbw Vale, on 21 June 1848, when the cage they had stepped into at the top lost its counterbalance.	21 June 1848	Winding / Shaft Accident	Blaenau Gwent	11
Aber Colliery explosion, 1888 Gas that had gathered while the fan stood idle over the weekend ignited at Aber Colliery, Ogmore Vale, on 14 May 1888, killing five of the seven men who had gone in, when the men followed the fireman in instead of waiting while he examined the workings.	14 May 1888	Explosion	Bridgend	5
Charles Pit explosion, Llansamlet, 1870 Gas from the old Tyr Cenol workings fired at the naked lights of Charles Pit, Llansamlet, on Saturday 23 July 1870, killing nineteen men and boys in a small colliery thought so free of gas that it was never worked with safety lamps.	23 July 1870	Explosion	Swansea	19
Beamish Colliery inundation, 1832 An unexpected rush of water at Beamish Colliery on 7 March 1832 drowned the viewer, William Millar, and Robert Moody; a third man escaped with difficulty, and the bodies were not found until the water had been drawn off on 23 March.	7 March 1832	Flooding / Inundation	County Durham	2
Workington Colliery explosion, 1835 Five miners, the youngest 21 and the oldest 68, were killed by an explosion at the Curwens' Workington Colliery on 6 February 1835.	6 February 1835	Explosion	Cumbria	5
Isabella Pit inundation, Workington, 1833 Four young miners drowned when water broke into the Isabella Pit of the Curwens' Workington Colliery in November 1833, two months after an explosion in the same pit had killed thirteen.	November 1833	Flooding / Inundation	Cumbria	4
St Helen's Colliery sinking explosion, 1898 Two sinkers were killed at St Helen's Colliery, near Bishop Auckland, on 21 August 1898 when gas lying under the walling scaffold in a shaft being deepened was fired by the sparks of a fuze, as they were drawn up in the kibble after lighting the shots.	21 August 1898	Explosion	County Durham	2
South Hetton Colliery roof fall, 1898 Two deputies, Robert Carr and Alexander Short, were killed at South Hetton Colliery on 8 January 1898 when a stone 20 feet long fell on them from a hidden slip in the roof as they drew timber from a jud in the Low Main seam.	8 January 1898	Collapse / Roof Fall	County Durham	2
South Hetton Colliery explosion, 1869 A deputy overman and a hewer were killed at South Hetton Colliery on 29 January 1869 when a blown-out shot fired gas that had gathered behind the face of a place the deputy had been told not to let be worked.	29 January 1869	Explosion	County Durham	2
North Biddick Colliery explosion, 1773 Foul air in an old waste at North Biddick Colliery took fire about noon on 6 December 1773 and burst through into the working pit; most of the men were drawn out in time, but some boys and a man were killed, nineteen or twenty in all, and explosions went on through the day.	6 December 1773	Explosion	Tyne and Wear	19
North Biddick Colliery explosion, 1743 Seventeen were killed at North Biddick Colliery, on the Wear at Washington, in January 1743 when men holing a drift into an old waste fired gas, though the drift and waste were full of water.	January 1743	Explosion	Tyne and Wear	17
Whitworth Park Colliery roof fall, 1874 Two hewers, Edward Codling and William Graham, were killed together by a fall of stone at the Whitworth pit near Spennymoor, then worked by Johnson and Reay, on 17 September 1874.	17 September 1874	Collapse / Roof Fall	County Durham	2
Ludworth Colliery cage accident, 1852 Three men and a boy of eleven were killed at Ludworth Colliery on 23 March 1852 when the spring joining the rope to the cage chains broke as they rode up the North Pit shaft, and the cage fell to the bottom; the inquest jury blamed the firm that supplied the spring.	23 March 1852	Winding / Shaft Accident	County Durham	4
Leasingthorne Colliery explosion, 1853 An explosion of firedamp in the north-east headway of Leasingthorne Colliery on the evening of Sunday 2 January 1853 killed two deputies, another man and a boy of sixteen, after part of a stopping was taken out and gas reached a naked candle.	2 January 1853	Explosion	County Durham	4
Kimblesworth Colliery shaft accident, 1885 Three men repairing a shaft at Kimblesworth Colliery on 16 August 1885 fell about 250 feet to the bottom when the crab rope broke: the engineman Richard Carr, the engineer Thomas Carr and the master shifter John Defty.	16 August 1885	Winding / Shaft Accident	County Durham	3
Castle Eden Colliery roof fall, 1879 Two putters, Robert Clark and Richard Lamb, were killed by a fall of stone at Castle Eden Colliery on 24 March 1879 after leaving the jud they had been sent to hew and crossing into an old bord from which the timber had been drawn.	24 March 1879	Collapse / Roof Fall	County Durham	2
Bewicke Main Colliery boiler explosion, 1869 A colliery boiler at Bewicke Main burst on 29 December 1869 where it had lately been repaired, killing the weighman George Irwin and the engineman George Ranson; the inquest jury blamed bad workmanship and asked for boilers to be inspected more carefully.	29 December 1869	Machinery	Tyne and Wear	2
Oxclose Colliery explosion, 1805 At the end of November 1805 an explosion at Oxclose Colliery, Washington, killed thirty-eight men and boys, the youngest eight years old, and left eighteen widows and seventy children.	29 November 1805	Explosion	Tyne and Wear	38
Heworth Colliery inrush, 1930 On 6 March 1930 water from old workings broke suddenly into Heworth Colliery, Gateshead, and drowned three men, two of them teenagers.	6 March 1930	Flooding / Inundation	Tyne and Wear	3
Heworth Colliery shaft accident, 1834 On 25 February 1834 four men riding the shaft at Heworth Colliery, Gateshead, in a corf were killed when it came off the winding hook and fell down the shaft.	25 February 1834	Winding / Shaft Accident	Tyne and Wear	4
Fatfield Hall Pit explosion, 1808 On 31 August 1808 an explosion at the Hall Pit, Fatfield, killed three: the deputy James Carr and the overman Matthew Robson with his seventeen-year-old son.	31 August 1808	Explosion	Tyne and Wear	3
Howdon Pans Colliery inundation, 1838 On 1 September 1838 a large body of water burst into the Bensham seam workings of Howdon Pans (Percy Main) Colliery, near North Shields, drowning three men and four horses.	1 September 1838	Flooding / Inundation	Tyne and Wear	3
Percy Main Colliery shaft accident, 1847 On 17 September 1847 two men examining the pumps at Percy Main Colliery, near North Shields, fell to their deaths when the horse-gin rope drawing them up the pump shaft caught in the scaffolding and broke.	17 September 1847	Winding / Shaft Accident	Tyne and Wear	2
Fawdon Colliery explosion, 1827 On 5 September 1827 an explosion of gas at Fawdon Colliery, north-west of Newcastle, badly burnt three young men, two of whom died soon afterwards.	5 September 1827	Explosion	Tyne and Wear	2
Ouston Colliery explosion, 1823 On 21 February 1823 firedamp exploded in an old working at Ouston Colliery, near Chester-le-Street, killing four, the youngest a boy of ten, and severely burning two more.	21 February 1823	Explosion	County Durham	4
Washington Colliery accident, 1798 On 27 February 1798 seven men and boys were killed at Washington Colliery, County Durham, two years after an explosion had killed six there.	27 February 1798	Other	Tyne and Wear	7
Washington Colliery explosion, 1796 On 12 February 1796 an explosion at New Washington colliery, County Durham, killed six people, and the colliery's F Pit was abandoned after an explosion the same year.	12 February 1796	Explosion	Tyne and Wear	6
Washington Colliery explosion, 1736 An explosion at Washington Colliery on 14 June 1736 killed five pitmen from Biddick, the colliery's earliest recorded disaster.	14 June 1736	Other	Tyne and Wear	5
Washington Colliery overwinding accident, 1867 On the evening of 31 May 1867 the cage at Washington Colliery was wound up into the headgear, the rope broke, and eight men and two boys fell 250 yards to the bottom of the shaft.	31 May 1867	Winding / Shaft Accident	Tyne and Wear	10
Springwell Colliery shaft accident, 1834 On 4 October 1834 a heavy timber fell down the shaft at Springwell Colliery onto the cradle where two men were repairing it, carrying them thirty fathoms to the bottom.	4 October 1834	Winding / Shaft Accident	Tyne and Wear	2
Wearmouth Colliery shaft accident, 1837 On 18 April 1837 the winding rope at Monkwearmouth Colliery, Sunderland, broke near the top of the shaft and fell on five boys at the bottom, killing three of them.	18 April 1837	Winding / Shaft Accident	Tyne and Wear	3
Axwell Park Colliery explosion, 1896 On 10 February 1896 firedamp, never before seen at Axwell Park Colliery, was fired at a hewer's naked light in the Five Quarter seam, burning three men; the deputy and a hewer died.	10 February 1896	Explosion	Tyne and Wear	2
Crow Trees Colliery boiler explosion, 1850 On 18 December 1850 the middle boiler of Crow Trees Colliery's winding engine gave way during a repair, blowing one man who was working in it 150 yards and killing a second beside the boilers.	18 December 1850	Machinery	County Durham	2
Derwent Crook Colliery boiler explosion, 1841 On Saturday 29 May 1841 the boiler at Derwent Crook Colliery, Low Fell, burst while the men sat in the engine-house taking their allowance; its four-ton body flew clean over the engine-house, and the engineer and three workmen died.	29 May 1841	Machinery	Tyne and Wear	4
Blaydon Main Colliery boiler explosion, 1860 In March 1860 a boiler at the Shildon Pit of Blaydon Main Colliery burst at the change of shift, moments after the brakesman had found its valves in order, killing him, a fireman and two men buried under the rubble.	21 or 27 March 1860	Machinery	Tyne and Wear	4
Whitley Colliery shaft accident, 1835 At three in the morning of 1 May 1835 a man and five boys riding down the shaft at Whitley Colliery, near Tynemouth, fell 45 fathoms to the bottom when the winding chain's hook had not been properly set in the bow of their corf.	1 May 1835	Winding / Shaft Accident	Tyne and Wear	6
Delabole Slate Quarry fall, 1869 On the evening of 21 April 1869 the 250-foot face of the Landwork quarry at Delabole slate quarry, Cornwall, fell into the pit with the poppet head on top of it, killing fifteen or sixteen people, among them a grandfather and his two small grandsons.	21 April 1869	Collapse / Roof Fall	Cornwall	15
Aberaman Colliery explosion, 1855 On 20 April 1855 firedamp fired by naked lights in the pillar workings of Aberaman Colliery, Aberdare, killed five men and boys, one of them a sixteen-year-old haulier blown into the sump and drowned.	20 April 1855	Explosion	Rhondda Cynon Taf	5
Silverdale Colliery Sheriff Pit explosion, 1870 On the afternoon of 7 July 1870 firedamp exploded in the Eight Feet workings of the Sheriff Pit at Silverdale, North Staffordshire, killing nineteen men and boys; one man survived from the district.	7 July 1870	Explosion	Staffordshire	19
Isabella Pit explosion, Workington, 1833 In September 1833 an explosion of firedamp in the Isabella Pit of the Curwens' Workington Colliery killed thirteen people, among them three Brennan brothers and three boys of ten.	20 or 21 September 1833	Explosion	Cumbria	13
Gadlys Colliery explosion, 1848 On 24 April 1848 a localised explosion of gas at the Gadlys ironworks' colliery in Aberdare killed five men.	24 April 1848	Explosion	Rhondda Cynon Taf	5
Garscube Colliery accident, 1853 On 13 December 1853 five men working near the shaft bottom at Garscube Colliery, Glasgow, were killed, by an explosion of firedamp in one account and in another by smoke from an underground engine driven into the workings when the air reversed.	13 December 1853	Gas / Asphyxiation	North Lanarkshire	5
Haswell Colliery boiler explosion, 1865 On 1 May 1865 an underground boiler exploded at Haswell Colliery, East Durham, killing four men and boys by the Durham Mining Museum's names, three by the contemporary register, and severely injuring several others.	1 May 1865	Machinery	County Durham	4
Burradon Colliery boiler explosion, 1847 On 20 March 1847 a colliery boiler at Burradon, north of Newcastle, burst minutes after the stoker had been told to raise the fires, killing him, a miner's wife and a bank lad.	20 March 1847	Machinery	Northumberland	3
Coxhoe Colliery shaft accident, 1870 On 14 February 1870 four sinkers repairing the furnace shaft at Coxhoe Colliery, County Durham, were thrown to the bottom when a piece of iron knocked down the shaft broke two chains of the cradle they stood on.	14 February 1870	Winding / Shaft Accident	County Durham	4
Farnacres Colliery inundation, 1840 Shortly after midnight on 23 October 1840 water from forgotten old workings burst into the newly sunk Wheels Pit at Farnacres Colliery, in the Team valley near Gateshead, and filled the shaft, drowning all five men below.	23 October 1840	Flooding / Inundation	Tyne and Wear	5
St Lawrence Colliery explosion, 1834 On the night of 24 November 1834 an explosion of gas at St Lawrence Colliery, Newcastle, killed two masons and a shifter who were building brick stoppings by candlelight.	24 November 1834	Explosion	Tyne and Wear	3
Avonbraes mine explosion, 1841 At breakfast time on 16 March 1841 firedamp exploded in the Duke of Hamilton's drift mine in the Avon gorge near Quarter, killing six men and a boy inside, and four of the men who rushed in after them died in the afterdamp.	16 March 1841	Explosion	South Lanarkshire	11
Reservoir Colliery explosion, 1886 An explosion of gas at Reservoir Colliery, the Moira Colliery Company's pit at Overseal, near Ashby-de-la-Zouch, on 8 December 1886 burned two stallmen, William Hart and Thomas Patrick, who both died of their injuries eight days later.	8 December 1886	Explosion	Derbyshire	2
Pencaitland choke-damp deaths, 1865 On 30 August 1865 George Duncan, an engineman, went down a pit ladder near Pencaitland against orders and was overcome by choke damp from an old coal waste. Andrew Cairns, who saw him fall and went down to help, was suffocated beside him.	30 August 1865	Gas / Asphyxiation	East Lothian	2
Cannock Old Coppice Colliery cage accident, 1900 On 3 September 1900, as the day shift went down at the Old Coppice Colliery, Cheslyn Hay, the cage carrying eight men ran to the bottom of the shaft out of the winder's control. Three men were killed outright and a fourth, William Buck, died of his injuries later; the winder was charged with manslaughter and acquitted.	3 September 1900	Winding / Shaft Accident	Staffordshire	4
Enterkine Colliery explosion, 1930 Shortly after the day shift began on 11 December 1930, an explosion in the Ell coal section of No. 9 Pit at Enterkine Colliery, Annbank, burned six men. Andrew McNeillie, John Gourlay and James Reddick died in Ayr County Hospital over the next eight days.	11 December 1930	Explosion	South Ayrshire	3
Drumley Pit explosion, 1898 On the afternoon of 9 September 1898 an outburst of firedamp in the Diamond seam of the Drumley Pit, near Annbank in Ayrshire, was fired at the fireman's naked light. Of fourteen men and boys at the face, seven died, three in the pit and four of their burns in Ayr County Hospital; two of the dead were boys of twelve and thirteen.	9 September 1898	Explosion	South Ayrshire	7
Callendar Brickworks pit roof fall, 1915 On the afternoon of 23 June 1915 a heavy fall from the roof buried two men in the pit at the Callendar Brickworks, Glen Village, near Falkirk. James Fleming was dead when they were dug out, and Walter Wilson died of his injuries in Falkirk Infirmary ten days later.	23 June 1915	Collapse / Roof Fall	Falkirk	2
Ferniegair Colliery explosion, 1909 On Sunday 27 June 1909 an explosion of gas in the Virtuewell seam of Ferniegair Colliery, near Hamilton, killed the only three men working there, a crew running an electric coal-cutting machine. Their widows sued the owners, Archibald Russell Ltd, and lost.	27 June 1909	Explosion	South Lanarkshire	3