Collapse / Roof Fall disasters

Underground falls of ground, roof or side collapse, shaft collapse.

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112 disasters, in date order.

Disaster	Date	Type	Region	Fatalities
1820s
Walker Colliery fall of stones, 1823 In June 1823 six men clearing rubbish from the bottom of an old shaft at Walker Colliery, on the Tyne below Newcastle, were killed when stones and rubbish fell on them.	19 June 1823	Collapse / Roof Fall	Tyne and Wear	6
1850s
Agecroft Colliery roof fall, 1853 On 1 December 1853 two men were killed by a fall of roof at Agecroft Colliery, near Pendlebury in Lancashire.	1 December 1853	Collapse / Roof Fall	Greater Manchester	2
Arniston Colliery roof fall, 1858 On 2 December 1858 two colliers, John Clark and Alexander Hood, were killed by a fall of roof at the face of the workings at Arniston Colliery, near Gorebridge in Midlothian, then owned by John Christie.	2 December 1858	Collapse / Roof Fall	Midlothian	2
1860s
Tillicoultry Colliery roof fall, 1862 Early in March 1862 a mass of rock weighing about two tons fell from the roof of the west pit at Devonside, near Tillicoultry, on two colliers clearing debris there. William Allan and John Cook, both of Coalsnaughton, were killed; men working close by narrowly escaped.	7 March 1862	Collapse / Roof Fall	Clackmannanshire	2
Aberaman Colliery fall of coal, 1862 A fall of coal killed two colliers holing in the Nine Feet seam at Aberaman Colliery on 21 June 1862.	21 June 1862	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Glyn Pits roof fall, 1864 A collier and a haulier boy were killed at Glyn Pits, Pontypool on 11 August 1864 when a loaded tram, upset into a stall at the intersection with a heading, knocked out the timbers and brought down the roof — two months after the colliery's fatal firedamp explosion of the same year.	11 August 1864	Collapse / Roof Fall	Torfaen	2
Byers Green Colliery roof fall, 1867 On 5 April 1867 two deputies at Bolckow, Vaughan and Co.'s Byers Green Colliery, near Bishop Auckland, were replacing timber at the top of an inclined plane when stone fell from the roof and killed them both: Charles Naisbett, 50, and William Turnbull, 24.	5 April 1867	Collapse / Roof Fall	County Durham	2
Cwmtillery Colliery roof fall, 1868 Two men taking down the top in a squeezed old road at Cwmtillery Colliery on 29 July 1868 were killed by a fall of roof, hemmed in by the drams they had placed on either side of them.	29 July 1868	Collapse / Roof Fall	Blaenau Gwent	2
Darfield Main Colliery Fall, 1869 On 15 June 1869 two men were killed by a fall of coal at Darfield Main Colliery, near Barnsley.	15 June 1869	Collapse / Roof Fall	South Yorkshire	2
1870s
Coldberry Mine roof fall, 1870 On 20 January 1870 two young labourers were crushed by a fall of roof at Coldberry, a lead mine in Teesdale.	20 January 1870	Collapse / Roof Fall	County Durham	2
Orrell Colliery roof fall, 1870 On 30 May 1870 a fall of roof at Orrell Colliery, near Wigan, then worked by William Hill Brancker, killed a collier, Robert Janhurst, 41, and two drawers, Richard Janhurst, 16, and Thomas Newton, 15.	30 May 1870	Collapse / Roof Fall	Greater Manchester	3
Wombwell Main Colliery Fall, 1870 On 10 August 1870 two colliers were killed by a fall of coal at Wombwell Main Colliery, near Barnsley.	10 August 1870	Collapse / Roof Fall	South Yorkshire	2
Gill Head Colliery fall of stone, 1872 A fall of stone at Gill Head Colliery near Flimby on 17 August 1872 killed two hewers, William Ismay, aged 18, and Andrew Poole, aged 19. It was the worst single accident recorded at a pit that employed fewer than fifty men for most of its life.	17 August 1872	Collapse / Roof Fall	Cumbria	2
Kingseat Colliery roof fall, 1873 On 10 September 1873 two colliers were killed by a fall of roof at the face at Kingseat Colliery, in County Durham.	10 September 1873	Collapse / Roof Fall	Fife	2
Eskett Pit Fall of Roof, 1873 Two miners, Thomas Cameron and Peter Hughes, were killed by a single fall of roof at the Eskett iron ore workings on 16 September 1873. The Durham Mining Museum files the accident under Salter & Eskett, with the company given as Fisher and Co., and the local papers reported it as two men killed at Frizington.	16 September 1873	Collapse / Roof Fall	Cumbria	2
Rosehall Colliery roof fall, 1874 On 19 January 1874 a large mass of freestone fell without warning from the roof of a longwall face in Rosehall No. 10 pit, Coatbridge, and crushed three colliers working within nine feet of each other: Alexander Mace, his eighteen-year-old son Robert, and Peter Duffy. The Inspector singled it out for its severity, but found no sign that anyone could have foreseen it.	1874	Collapse / Roof Fall	North Lanarkshire	3
Moorgreen Colliery Roof Fall, 1876 A very large fall of roof over the timbering at Barber Walker's Moorgreen pit killed three men working together, a loader of nineteen, a driver of fifteen and a stallman of thirty-three.	26 June 1876	Collapse / Roof Fall	Nottinghamshire	3
Clandown Colliery Roof Fall (1877) Two colliers, one of them a teenager, were killed together in a single fall of roof.	5 February 1877	Collapse / Roof Fall	Somerset	2
Monk Bretton Colliery roof fall, 1877 On 16 February 1877 two colliers were killed by a fall of roof at Monk Bretton Colliery, near Barnsley.	16 February 1877	Collapse / Roof Fall	South Yorkshire	2
Unity Brook Colliery explosion Gas escaping from a roof fall exploded in the lower Cannel mine at Unity Brook Colliery, Kearsley, killing forty-three men and boys — the worst day in the town’s history. Nineteen were buried at the parish church. The jury returned accidental death, praised the management, and refused to recommend safety lamps in place of the naked candles the pit worked by.	12 March 1878	Explosion	Greater Manchester	43
Bedlington Colliery fall of stone, 1878 On 20 September 1878 two deputies were killed by a fall of stone at Bedlington Colliery, in Northumberland.	20 September 1878	Collapse / Roof Fall	Northumberland	2
Eppleton Colliery fall of stone, 1878 On 18 December 1878 two young colliers were killed by a fall of stone in the Hutton Seam at Eppleton Colliery, near Hetton-le-Hole in County Durham.	18 December 1878	Collapse / Roof Fall	Tyne and Wear	2
Fitzwilliam Main Colliery Explosion An explosion of firedamp in the dip levels on the west side of Fitzwilliam Main Colliery, near Hemsworth in the West Riding, on the morning of 25 January 1879. The pit had been open less than a year, gas had scarcely been seen in it, and the men were allowed to work by naked light. A fall is thought to have released gas from a thin coal left in the roof, which fired at a naked flame. Two colliers died at once and three others later; the inspector afterwards pressed the owner to introduce safety lamps throughout.	25 January 1879	Explosion	West Yorkshire	5
1880s
Ripley Colliery roof fall, 1880 On 20 March 1880 two loaders were killed by a fall of roof at Ripley Colliery, in County Durham, when a heavy weight came suddenly onto the stall.	20 March 1880	Collapse / Roof Fall	Derbyshire	2
Marine Rhondda Colliery Fall On 20 April 1883 three colliers were buried and suffocated by a fall of roof at the Rhondda Marine Colliery, Pontypridd; their bodies were recovered the following Saturday.	20 April 1883	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	3
Cwmorthin Back Vein collapse Most of Cwmorthin's workings in the Back Vein collapsed in 1884, fracturing the ground all the way to the top of Allt-fawr and draining a lake on the summit ridge. About half the mine was left inaccessible, production nearly halved, and the company was wound up within four years.	1884	Collapse / Roof Fall	Gwynedd	—
Habergham Colliery roof fall, 1884 On 25 March 1884 two waggoners were killed by a fall of roof on an endless-chain road at Habergham Colliery, near Burnley in Lancashire.	25 March 1884	Collapse / Roof Fall	Lancashire	2
Eastern Colliery roof fall, 1885 A fall of stone at Eastern Colliery, Ton Pentre, on 19 March 1885 killed a repairer and a mason.	19 March 1885	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Long Grass Quarry cliff fall, Tintagel, 1886 Three men drilling the face of Long Grass Quarry, on the cliffs between Tintagel and Trebarwith in north Cornwall, were carried into the sea in 1886 when the rock they were working snapped off beneath them.	1886	Collapse / Roof Fall	Cornwall	3
Cwm Colliery roof fall, Merthyr, 1886 On the morning of Thursday 28 January 1886 two falls of roof in a stall of the Seven Foot vein at Crawshay Brothers' Cwm Pit, Merthyr Tydfil, killed three men, including the fireman sent to clear the first fall, and injured a fourth. The inquest returned accidental death.	28 January 1886	Collapse / Roof Fall	Merthyr Tydfil	3
Troutbeck Park Fall of Rock, 1887 Two miners at the Troutbeck Park green slate works, John Rowlandson and Joseph Woodcock, were killed on 21 February 1887 by a large piece of rock which fell on them while they were preparing to put a shot into it. The works had employed thirteen people four years earlier.	21 February 1887	Collapse / Roof Fall	Cumbria	2
Garw Colliery fall of stone, 1887 On the morning of 17 May 1887 a huge stone fell on three men ripping the top at the Ocean Colliery, Blaengarw, in the Garw valley, killing two of them on the spot.	17 May 1887	Collapse / Roof Fall	Bridgend	2
Garngoch Colliery roof fall, 1888 On 6 April 1888 two repairers were killed by a fall of roof at Garngoch Colliery, near Gorseinon in the Swansea valley.	6 April 1888	Collapse / Roof Fall	Swansea	2
Cossall Colliery Roof Fall, 1888 Two boys, William Green aged fifteen and William Horton aged fourteen, went into an old gateway that was being filled up to eat their breakfast and were killed by a fall of roof. The inquest was held the next day at the Crown Inn, Awsworth.	9 October 1888	Collapse / Roof Fall	Nottinghamshire	2
Wombwell Main Colliery Roof Fall, 1889 On 29 April 1889 two colliers were killed by a fall of roof at Wombwell Main Colliery, near Barnsley.	29 April 1889	Collapse / Roof Fall	South Yorkshire	2
Alps Quarry Fall of Stone, 1889 At around midday on 15 August 1889 three men were killed at Alps Quarry, Wenvoe, while boring a shot hole about ten feet from the quarry face. Large boulders came down on them and they fell some sixty feet to the quarry bottom, where they were crushed. The inquest at Cardiff returned a verdict of accidental death.	15 August 1889	Collapse / Roof Fall	Vale of Glamorgan	3
Ynyshir Colliery roof fall, 1889 On 12 October 1889 three men died under a fall of roof at the Standard Colliery, Ynyshir, in the Rhondda: David Jones, 39, Joseph Jones, 16, and Thomas Griffiths, 37.	12 October 1889	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	3
1890s
Great Mountain Colliery roof fall, 1890 On 27 November 1890 two colliers were killed by a fall of roof at Great Mountain Colliery, at Tumble in Carmarthenshire.	27 November 1890	Collapse / Roof Fall	Carmarthenshire	2
Dudley Colliery fall of stone, 1891 On 27 July 1891 two men were killed by a fall of stone at Dudley Colliery, at Cramlington in Northumberland, after timber had been knocked out.	27 July 1891	Collapse / Roof Fall	Tyne and Wear	2
Woolley Colliery roof fall, 1891 On 31 December 1891 two young men were killed by a fall of roof at Woolley Colliery, near Barnsley.	31 December 1891	Collapse / Roof Fall	South Yorkshire	2
Grassmoor Colliery Roof Fall, 1892 On 27 April 1892 two datallers were killed by a fall of roof at Grassmoor No. 3 pit, in Derbyshire.	27 April 1892	Collapse / Roof Fall	Derbyshire	2
Tylorstown Colliery roof fall, 1892 On 25 July 1892 three men were killed at Tylor's pit, Tylorstown, in the Rhondda Fach, when a tram they were pushing left the rails and dislodged the timber props, bringing down the roof.	25 July 1892	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	3
Yniscedwyn Colliery runaway, 1892 At six in the evening of 24 August 1892 the night shift at Yniscedwyn Colliery was waiting to ride down the steep new drift in a journey of carriages held by a scotch. One of the men kicked the scotch away before the engine was manned, the journey ran away down the 1-in-3 incline, crashed into timbers and brought down the roof, killing six men and injuring three. The inquest held the dead man who started it responsible.	24 August 1892	Haulage / Transport	Powys	6
Abercynon Colliery Sinking Accident, 1893 Eight sinkers were killed by a fall while the shafts of Abercynon Colliery — then the Dowlais Cardiff Colliery — were being sunk on 23 January 1893. A ninth man, David Jones, died a month later of injuries from the same fall.	23 January 1893	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	8
Dolcoath Mine stope collapse A timbered stope collapsed at the 412-fathom level, one of the deepest workings in Cornwall, killing eight miners and trapping a ninth for over a day and a half before he was rescued unhurt.	20 September 1893	Collapse / Roof Fall	Cornwall	8
Byermoor Colliery fall of stone, 1894 On 16 January 1894 two shifters were killed on the spot by a fall of stone at Byermoor Colliery, in County Durham.	16 January 1894	Collapse / Roof Fall	Tyne and Wear	2
Aberaman Colliery roof fall, 1894 On the night shift of 14 November 1894 a shot fired at Aberaman Colliery brought down a fall that buried three men; two were dead when they were dug out two hours later.	14 November 1894	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	2
Agecroft Colliery roof fall, 1896 On 6 March 1896 two colliers of the same name were killed by a fall of roof at Agecroft Colliery, near Pendlebury in Lancashire.	6 March 1896	Collapse / Roof Fall	Greater Manchester	2
Muiredge Colliery roof fall, 1896 A fall of roof stone at a longwall face in the parrot coal of Muiredge No. 1 Pit, Buckhaven, on 9 December 1896 buried and killed two young miners, Robert Brown and George Hunter.	9 December 1896	Collapse / Roof Fall	Fife	2
Usworth Colliery fall of ground, 1897 On 6 July 1897 a chock drawer and a deputy were buried and killed by a sudden fall of ground on the engine-plane landing at Usworth Colliery, in County Durham.	6 July 1897	Collapse / Roof Fall	Tyne and Wear	2
Grassmoor Colliery Roof Fall, 1899 On 11 July 1899 two datallers of the same name were killed by a fall of roof at Grassmoor No. 1 pit, in Derbyshire.	11 July 1899	Collapse / Roof Fall	Derbyshire	2
1900s
Aldridge Colliery roof fall On 1 November 1901 two roadmen were killed by a fall of roof at Aldridge Colliery, in South Staffordshire.	1 November 1901	Collapse / Roof Fall	Staffordshire	2
Fochriw Colliery Explosion, 1902 A fall of roof released a body of firedamp at Fochriw Colliery, which was ignited by a naked light, killing eight miners.	4 June 1902	Explosion	Caerphilly	8
Bearpark Colliery fall of stone, 1902 On 20 June 1902 a chock drawer and a young timber leader were killed by a large fall of stone while repairing an old roadway at Bearpark Colliery, near Durham.	20 June 1902	Collapse / Roof Fall	County Durham	2
Dumbreck Colliery road-enlarging fall, 1903 On the afternoon of 12 February 1903 two brushers enlarging a new road in the Cloven coal of Dumbreck No. 1 Pit, Kilsyth, were killed outright when several hundredweights of stone came down on them. Archibald Goodwin and Robert Weir left widows and nine children between them.	12 February 1903	Collapse / Roof Fall	North Lanarkshire	2
Nine Mile Point Colliery sinking rockfall Twenty-six men were buried when a rockfall struck the workings during the sinking of Nine Mile Point's shafts in August 1904; seven were killed.	August 1904	Collapse / Roof Fall	Caerphilly	7
Great Laxey Mine scaffold collapse A working scaffold gave way underground, and the four men on it fell into a water-filled sump about 17 feet deep. All four drowned, including the youngest, 18-year-old Henry Lewis Gelling.	10 December 1904	Collapse / Roof Fall	Isle of Man	4
Llanhilleth Colliery Air Blast A rush of wind from a large fall of stone into a cavity at Llanhilleth Colliery injured seven men on 10 March 1905; the haulier Dennis Carroll died of his injuries a week later. First taken for a gas explosion, investigation found no trace of one.	10 March 1905 (died 17 March 1905)	Collapse / Roof Fall	Blaenau Gwent	1
Pwllfaron Colliery roof fall, 1905 At about half past ten on Tuesday 6 June 1905 a mass of roof about 20 feet square fell in the main road of the Ladysmith level, worked with Pwllfaron Colliery at Glyn-neath. It buried three of six men repairing the road. The inquest returned accidental death.	6 June 1905	Collapse / Roof Fall	Neath Port Talbot	3
New Boston Colliery roof fall, 1905 On Sunday 16 July 1905 the under-manager Samuel Cook took fifteen men down New Boston Colliery to secure the main brow in the Ravenhead Higher Delf, which had been falling for a week where water from old workings had weakened the roof. As they put up a great baulk to finish the timbering a second fall knocked out six bars and buried the party: Cook, his brother James, and the datallers Daniel Baines, Thomas Woolam and Thomas Waterworth were killed, and two more were dug out alive after twelve hours. The inquest at the Waggon and Horses found accidental death.	16 July 1905	Collapse / Roof Fall	Merseyside	5
Highhouse Colliery roof fall, 1906 On 22 June 1906 two roadsmen were killed by a fall of roof at Highhouse Colliery, near Auchinleck in Ayrshire.	22 June 1906	Collapse / Roof Fall	East Ayrshire	2
Woolley Colliery roof fall, 1906 On 24 July 1906 two colliers were killed instantly at Woolley Colliery, near Barnsley, when the roof fell out of a large pot-hole while they were ripping and walling a new level.	24 July 1906	Collapse / Roof Fall	South Yorkshire	2
Auckland Park Colliery fall, 1906 On 2 August 1906 a hewer and a pony putter were killed by the same fall of stone in the Harvey Seam at Auckland Park Colliery, near Bishop Auckland in County Durham.	2 August 1906	Collapse / Roof Fall	County Durham	2
Llanhilleth Colliery fall of coal, 1907 At about one in the morning of 8 March 1907 a lump of coal seven feet across fell from the face in the Black Vein at Llanhilleth Colliery and killed two brothers, William and Walter Morgan, as they filled a dram. Welsh Coal Mines records that a 'bumper' shook the place; the Inspector found the overhanging coal had been held by a single sprag, totally insufficient, and noted that such falls had become more common at the colliery since the strike.	8 March 1907	Collapse / Roof Fall	Blaenau Gwent	2
Auckland Park Colliery fall, 1907 On 3 May 1907 an extraordinary fall of stone in the Harvey Seam killed two hewers and injured a third at Auckland Park Colliery, near Bishop Auckland in County Durham.	3 May 1907	Collapse / Roof Fall	County Durham	2
Marston Hall Mine canal burst, 1907 On Sunday 21 July 1907 the flooded workings of the Marston Hall rock-salt mine gave way beneath the Trent and Mersey Canal near Marston, Cheshire. The canal bank burst, a chasm some sixty feet across opened, and half a mile of canal emptied through it. Nobody is recorded as killed, and the breach was repaired in just over two weeks.	21 July 1907	Collapse / Roof Fall	Cheshire	0
Hoyland Silkstone Colliery boiler house accident, 1907 On 23 November 1907 six men were taking down an old wall in an underground boiler house at Hoyland Silkstone Colliery, near Barnsley, when a girder collapsed and the roof came in. The fall broke open the boiler and scalded them all. Four died. The deputy in charge, Francis Chandler, whose son was among the dead, was awarded the Edward Medal of the first class for going back three times through the steam.	23 November 1907	Collapse / Roof Fall	South Yorkshire	4
Silverwood Colliery roof fall, 1909 On 28 February 1909 three men were killed by a large fall of roof at Silverwood Colliery, near Rotherham, while a main haulage road was being enlarged.	28 February 1909	Collapse / Roof Fall	South Yorkshire	3
Celynen Colliery roof fall (1909) A heavy fall of rock at Celynen South Colliery's No. 3 pit trapped collier Joseph Absalom and his young assistant Alfred Phillips at the coal face. Despite a rescue effort lasting up to 26 hours, during which the trapped men could still be heard, both died before they could be freed.	14 May 1909	Collapse / Roof Fall	Caerphilly	2
Glapwell Colliery Roof Fall On 17 December 1909 a deputy and a ripping contractor were killed instantly by a fall of stone in the Top Hard seam at Glapwell Colliery, in Derbyshire.	17 December 1909	Collapse / Roof Fall	Derbyshire	2
1910s
Darfield Main Colliery Roof Fall, 1910 On 3 November 1910 a packman and a young pony driver were buried by a fall of roof at Darfield Main Colliery, near Barnsley in the West Riding, at the narrow end of a coal barrier being worked between two goaves.	3 November 1910	Collapse / Roof Fall	South Yorkshire	2
Water Haigh Colliery shaft collapse, November 1910 Six months after the shaft disaster of May 1910, the sides of No. 1 shaft at Water Haigh gave way again on 17 November 1910. Four of the ten men at the bottom were caught by the falling shale, timber and iron rings: one was killed outright and another died of his injuries in Leeds Infirmary.	17 November 1910	Winding / Shaft Accident	West Yorkshire	2
Bug and Wink Colliery roof fall and rescue attempt, 1910 In December 1910 a fall of roof buried Charles Marshall, a 23-year-old shifter, at the Bug and Wink colliery, Coleorton. His mate William Birch freed himself and kept digging for him through three more falls, until Marshall was covered completely; he was dead when he was got out, and Birch received the Edward Medal.	14 December 1910	Collapse / Roof Fall	Leicestershire	1
Crossgill Mine Fall of Ground (1911) A large mass of ore and stone fell without warning from the side of a working at Crossgill Mine, killing two men on the spot.	14 September 1911	Collapse / Roof Fall	Cumbria	2
Kinglassie Colliery Roof Fall 1912 A large stone fell from the roof at Kinglassie Colliery on the night of 19 August 1912, killing William Whitton, 17, and Patrick Macauley, a married man with an infant son, and injuring two other miners.	19 August 1912	Collapse / Roof Fall	Fife	2
North Walbottle Colliery roof fall, 1912 On 22 September 1912 two stonemen were killed together by a fall of stone at North Walbottle Colliery, in Northumberland.	22 September 1912	Collapse / Roof Fall	Tyne and Wear	2
Littleburn Colliery arch collapse, 1913 On the evening of 28 March 1913 a newly built brick arch collapsed on the men taking out its centring at Littleburn Colliery, near Durham, killing two bricklayers.	28 March 1913	Collapse / Roof Fall	County Durham	2
Tylorstown No.8 Pit roof fall, 1913 At about 2 a.m. on 8 April 1913 a massive fall at a ripping lip in No. 8 Pit, Tylorstown, where double timbers were being set after an earlier fall, buried five men. Four died, two of them brothers; the rescue took about eleven hours through further falls, and one man survived with broken legs.	8 April 1913	Collapse / Roof Fall	Rhondda Cynon Taf	4
Silverwood Colliery stables roof fall, 1913 On 25 September 1913 three men were killed by a fall of roof in underground stables at Silverwood Colliery, near Rotherham, after work at the floor weakened the props supporting the roof.	25 September 1913	Collapse / Roof Fall	South Yorkshire	3
Grassmoor Colliery Roof Fall, 1914 On 4 June 1914 two young men were killed at a junction by a heavy fall of unsupported roof at Grassmoor Colliery, in Derbyshire.	4 June 1914	Collapse / Roof Fall	Derbyshire	2
Bedwas Navigation Colliery Roof Fall, 1914 On 18 December 1914 two men were killed together by a fall of roof at Bedwas Navigation Colliery, near Caerphilly in Monmouthshire.	18 December 1914	Collapse / Roof Fall	Caerphilly	2
Moelfferna Quarry Rockfall, 1915 Two quarrymen, Robert Jones and John Lloyd, were crushed by an unexpected rockfall weighing a hundred tons at the quarry in 1915.	1915	Collapse / Roof Fall	Denbighshire	2
Williamthorpe Colliery Roof Fall, 1919 On 20 September 1919 a collier and a deputy were killed by a fall of roof at Williamthorpe Colliery, in Derbyshire.	20 September 1919	Collapse / Roof Fall	Derbyshire	2
1920s
Holmewood Colliery Entombment and Rescue, 1920 A heavy fall of roof shut two men into a space fifteen yards by ten feet at Holmewood Colliery. They were known to be unhurt but it would take days to reach them, and further falls came down over the next forty-eight hours. They were fed through a pipe and freed after four days, and four of the men who dug them out were given the Edward Medal by the King.	22 September 1920	Collapse / Roof Fall	Derbyshire	0
Lintz Colliery fall of stone, 1920 On 29 November 1920 a fall of stone at Lintz Colliery, near Burnopfield in County Durham, killed three young workers outright; a fourth died of his injuries a fortnight later.	29 November 1920	Collapse / Roof Fall	County Durham	4
East Pool Mine shaft collapse A large underground rockfall destroyed both of East Pool's winding shafts and flooded the mine; no deaths were reported, but the mine had to sink an entirely new shaft to survive.	1921	Collapse / Roof Fall	Cornwall	0
East Hetton Colliery fall of material, 1921 On 7 March 1921 two men were killed at East Hetton Colliery, Coxhoe, when a disused heap of coal and other material they were loading fell on them; four others were seriously injured.	7 March 1921	Collapse / Roof Fall	County Durham	2
Welbeck Colliery roof fall, 1924 On 15 February 1924 two men were killed by a fall of roof at Welbeck Colliery, in Nottinghamshire, early in the morning shift.	15 February 1924	Collapse / Roof Fall	Nottinghamshire	2
Carberry Colliery fall of coal, 1924 On 6 August 1924 three miners were killed by a fall of coal in the Jewel seam at Carberry Colliery, in Midlothian.	6 August 1924	Collapse / Roof Fall	East Lothian	3
Kirkford Colliery roof fall, 1925 On the afternoon of 2 February 1925 a heavy fall in the Glassee section of Kirkford Pit, Cowdenbeath, buried three miners resting at the end of a roadway; two were dead when a rescue party reached them about three hours later.	2 February 1925	Collapse / Roof Fall	Fife	2
Kinglassie Colliery Roof Fall 1926 Thomas Gordon Whittaker and John Bennet Culbert, both miners' drawers, were killed when the roof burst in a new working's main roadway at Kinglassie Colliery; a public inquiry heard the roadway had been insufficiently supported.	17 December 1926	Collapse / Roof Fall	Fife	2
Mickley Colliery Roof Fall On 2 March 1927 two brothers, both experienced stonemen, were killed at Mickley Colliery, in Northumberland, when a misfired shot exploded as they drilled out its stemming.	2 March 1927	Explosion	Northumberland	2
Flooding of the Adelaide Mine A sudden inrush of water flooded the Adelaide rock-salt mine at Marston overnight on 13 March 1928, ending rock-salt mining at Northwich for good and creating the subsidence lake now known as Adelaide Flash.	13 March 1928	Flooding / Inundation	Cheshire	0
1930s
Plas Power Colliery Roof Fall, 1931 Three men on a Saturday afternoon repairing shift at Plas Power Colliery were buried instantly by a fall of roof estimated at 230 tons as they prepared to set a girder in extremely wet ground; it took a rescue party, one of them the father of a dead man, about twelve hours to reach the bodies.	24 January 1931	Collapse / Roof Fall	Wrexham	3
Handen Hold Colliery fall of stone, 1932 On 19 February 1932 three men were killed by a fall of stone at Handen Hold Colliery, near Annfield Plain in County Durham.	19 February 1932	Collapse / Roof Fall	County Durham	3
Bardykes Colliery Roof Fall, 1936 A very large fall of roof in the loading gate of a conveyor run in the Splint Seam at Bardykes Colliery killed five men and a pony on the evening of Saturday 21 March 1936.	21 March 1936	Collapse / Roof Fall	South Lanarkshire	5
1940s
Collins Green Colliery roof fall, 1940 Seven men were relocating a turbine in the main level of the Collins Green Pit at Bold when a section of roof collapsed on them on 14 February 1940, injuring two and completely burying five; three were dug out alive over the following hours but two, including the overman's own father, died after more than thirty hours under the fall. Two rescuers were awarded the Edward Medal.	14 February 1940	Collapse / Roof Fall	Merseyside	2
Rosehall Colliery roof fall, 1940 On 31 October 1940 two colliers were killed by a fall of roof near the coal face at Rosehall Colliery, in Lanarkshire.	31 October 1940	Collapse / Roof Fall	North Lanarkshire	2
Newlands Colliery roof fall rescue, 1944 A heavy roof fall at Newlands Colliery, Kenfig Hill, in September 1944 trapped two colliers; the under-manager William Jenkins, already twenty-two hours underground, was trapped and injured by further falls but brought both men out, and was awarded the Edward Medal in Silver.	21 September 1944	Collapse / Roof Fall	Bridgend	0
1950s
Denby Hall Colliery roof fall, 1951 On 9 May 1951 a fall of roof at Denby Hall Colliery, near Denby in Derbyshire, killed five men.	9 May 1951	Collapse / Roof Fall	Derbyshire	5
Blaenhirwaun Colliery explosion, 1955 At about 1 p.m. on 6 September 1955 a sudden blower of firedamp from the roof of the Q face at Blaenhirwaun Colliery near Cross Hands was drawn through a small compressed-air fan ventilating a ripping lip, and sparks from its blades striking pieces of stone set it off. Flame swept the face and supply gate. Four men were killed and two more died of their burns later that month; thirteen were injured, nine badly burned.	6 September 1955	Explosion	Carmarthenshire	6
Walsall Wood Colliery Collapse (1956) A collapsed roof junction in the Charles Seam at Walsall Wood Colliery killed four men on 9 October 1956; a fifth was rescued alive after some seven hours trapped in the debris.	9 October 1956	Collapse / Roof Fall	Staffordshire	4
Lewis Merthyr Colliery explosion, 1956 A firedamp explosion at Lewis Merthyr Colliery on 22 November 1956 killed nine men and injured five more, after methane that had accumulated undetected in an unventilated roof-fall cavity was ignited by a falling stone striking a steel roof support.	22 November 1956	Explosion	Rhondda Cynon Taf	9
1960s
Barony Colliery shaft collapse, 1962 On 8 November 1962 No. 2 shaft at Barony Colliery, west of Auchinleck in Ayrshire, collapsed as the ground around it caved in, burying four men 1,300 feet down and bringing the headframe into the shaft mouth. The bodies were never recovered, the colliery stopped producing, and it took a campaign and a new shaft to reopen it four years later.	8 November 1962	Collapse / Roof Fall	East Ayrshire	4
Brynlliw Colliery roof fall, 1963 At the end of the day shift on Friday 10 May 1963 the roof came in over twenty feet at the gate end of the S2 face at Brynlliw Colliery near Gorseinon, after a week of squeezing. Four colliers were killed. The undermanager, buried with them, survived by building a pack wall of stones around himself while rescuers dug in from both sides. The Minister of Power promised inquiries in the Commons the following Monday.	10 May 1963	Collapse / Roof Fall	Swansea	4
1970s
Cwmgwili Colliery Roof Fall, 1971 A sudden fall of roof in a heading being driven with a continuous miner buried three of the five men working there at Cwmgwili, then one of the Coal Board's most productive and profitable collieries. The other two escaped unhurt.	7 September 1971	Collapse / Roof Fall	Carmarthenshire	3
Seafield Colliery roof fall, 1973 The roof of Seafield Colliery's D22 face, a steep seam running out under the Firth of Forth, collapsed on the evening of 10 May 1973, trapping nine men and killing five.	10 May 1973	Collapse / Roof Fall	Fife	5
1990s
Wheal Jane acid mine water discharge, 1992 An estimated 50,000 m³ of acidic mine water burst from the flooding, abandoned Wheal Jane workings and turned the Carnon River and Fal estuary ochre-yellow — one of the most notorious mine-water pollution incidents in British history, and one still being actively treated more than three decades later.	13 January 1992	Flooding / Inundation	Cornwall	0
Bilsthorpe Colliery Roof Collapse (1993) A roof collapse caused by unsafe roof bolting killed three men nearly 2,000 feet underground as they drove a tunnel toward a new coal seam; an under-manager was posthumously awarded the George Medal for warning his colleagues.	18 August 1993	Collapse / Roof Fall	Nottinghamshire	3
Eckington Mine Roof Fall In 1998 part of the roof collapsed at Eckington drift mine in Derbyshire, about 800 metres in from the entrance, killing two miners and injuring a third. The mine, opened only five years earlier and worked by the pillar and stall method, had had a good safety record until then. It continued in production afterwards and did not close until January 2019.	June 1998	Collapse / Roof Fall	Derbyshire	2
2000s
Wheal Mary Ann Footway Shaft Rescue A volunteer clearing the Footway Shaft at the disused Wheal Mary Ann (recorded in the Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service's own report as 'St Mary's Lead Works') was trapped chest-deep when part of a drainage trench collapsed on him, triggering a rescue involving Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service, paramedics, an RAF Sea King helicopter and the Cornwall Air Ambulance.	13 November 2007	Collapse / Roof Fall	Cornwall	0
2010s
Cavanacaw rockfall and water inrush, 2018 Over-charging with explosives brought down 150 tonnes of rock from an underground roadway roof at Cavanacaw Gold Mine, narrowly missing a worker, before the resulting unstable ground let surface water flood into the workings, further endangering the underground workforce.	July 2018	Collapse / Roof Fall	County Tyrone	0