Darran Colliery Explosion, 1909

At about four on the morning of Friday 29 October 1909, with fifty night-shift men underground, Darran Colliery exploded. The blast vented up the upcast shaft and shattered the pit-head casing, and it disabled the winding shaft. Twenty-seven died — five of them rescuers whose breathing apparatus did not hold enough oxygen to get them out again.

Cause

An explosion in a colliery that had been worked with naked lights throughout its history and had until then been considered safe.

What happened

It was about four o'clock on the Friday morning and fifty men were underground on the night shift. The blast vented up the upcast shaft and shattered the pit-head casing on which two men were standing; both were badly injured. The winding shaft was disabled, which left the ventilation pit. A carpenter, William Evans, went down it on a ladder fixed to the side of the shaft. At the bottom he found two injured men, climbed all the way back to the surface for help, and came down again with two others to bring them up that same precarious way. The Darran was connected underground to the neighbouring Gilfach colliery, and the men who survived the explosion made their way out through the Gilfach shaft. It was down that shaft that a rescue party descended with breathing apparatus — and the capacity of their oxygen tanks proved inadequate. Five of them were overcome by the gas.

Rescue & recovery

The rescue turned on the neighbouring colliery: survivors walked out through the Gilfach workings and the rescue party went in the same way. Five of that party died when their oxygen ran short. Separately, a carpenter climbed the ventilation shaft by ladder to bring out two injured men.

Memorials & commemoration

A memorial at Darran House in Deri commemorates those who died, many of them in their attempts to rescue others.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Twenty-seven men were killed, five of them members of a rescue party. (medium) ^1,2
• Until the explosion the mine was considered safe, and throughout its history it had been worked with naked lights. (medium) ²
• With the winding shaft rendered inoperable by blast damage, a carpenter named William Evans descended the ventilation pit by a ladder fixed to the side of the shaft, found two injured men at the bottom, climbed back to the surface for help and returned with two others to get them up. (medium) ²
• A rescue party descended the connected Gilfach shaft equipped with breathing apparatus, but the capacity of their oxygen tanks proved inadequate and five of them were overcome by the toxic gases. (medium) ²

Related terminology

Mining terms this disaster is structurally linked to, with the nature of the relationship.

• Breathing Apparatus (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…the winding shaft. Twenty-seven died — five of them rescuers whose breathing apparatus did not hold enough oxygen to get them out again.”
• Colliery (contextual relationship)
  Named 4 times in this record, first in the summary: “…29 October 1909, with fifty night-shift men underground, Darran Colliery exploded. The blast vented up the upcast shaft and shattered the…”
• Downcast Shaft and Upcast Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named twice in this record, first in the summary: “…men underground, Darran Colliery exploded. The blast vented up the upcast shaft and shattered the pit-head casing, and it disabled the winding…”
• Shaft (contextual relationship)
  Named 6 times in this record, first in the summary: “…shaft and shattered the pit-head casing, and it disabled the winding shaft. Twenty-seven died — five of them rescuers whose breathing apparatus…”

Sources

1. (secondary) Welsh mining disasters: list of accidents with five or more fatalities — Welsh Coal Mines
2. (secondary) Darran Colliery, Deri — Welsh Coal Mines

Record created: 3 September 2026 · Last researched: 3 September 2026