MineArchiveBoulby Mine underground fire, 2016
| Date | 13 April 2016 |
|---|---|
| Mine | Boulby Mine |
| Region | North Yorkshire |
| Type | Fire |
| Fatalities | 0 (No deaths. Seven of the eleven workers found by the mine rescue team were taken to James Cook University Hospital for smoke inhalation and shock, and all were discharged the same day.) |
| Context | During active mining |
A fire involving polystyrene blocks broke out 1,100m below the sea bed and around 8km from land at Boulby potash mine in the early hours of 13 April 2016; eleven workers were found by the mine rescue team, seven of them treated in hospital for smoke inhalation and shock before being discharged the same day. No deaths.
Cause
Polystyrene blocks underground caught fire; the exact ignition source was under Health and Safety Executive investigation.
What happened
The fire broke out at about 00:30 BST on 13 April 2016 at the ICL UK Boulby mine in East Cleveland, 1,100m below the sea bed and around 8km from land. More than 100 staff were underground at the time the alarm was raised, and 11 were temporarily unaccounted for. The mine rescue team found all 11; two had suffered smoke inhalation and one was in shock. Seven workers in total were taken to James Cook University Hospital for checks and were all later discharged. The North East Ambulance Service's Hazardous Area Response Team was sent, along with two double-crewed ambulances and a patient transport vehicle. Cleveland Fire Brigade also attended. Mining operations were temporarily suspended while the fire was extinguished and the mine investigated. John Chilton, a Unite union representative with 29 years' experience as a miner, said an underground fire was 'the biggest fear for any miner' and that people were 'very shaken'.
Investigation & inquiry
The Health and Safety Executive opened an investigation into the fire's cause.
Memorials & commemoration
No memorial applicable; no deaths occurred.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- BBC gives the fire's location as 1,100m below the sea bed and about 8km (5 miles) from land; Teesside Live separately describes it as two miles (3.2km) from the pit head -- different reference points (distance from shore vs. from the shaft), not a contradiction. 1,2
Related terminology
Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.
- Potash (contextual relationship)
Named in this record’s summary: “…out 1,100m below the sea bed and around 8km from land at Boulby potash mine in the early hours of 13 April 2016; eleven workers were found…”
Sources
- (secondary) Boulby potash mine workers injured in fire below sea bed — BBC News
- (secondary) Boulby Mine fire: Seven workers taken to hospital following blaze are released — Teesside Live
Record created: 9 September 2026 · Last researched: 14 September 2026