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.
2 disasters in the 1980s, of 505.
| Disaster | Date | Type | Region | Fatalities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardowan Colliery explosion, 1982 A firedamp explosion on a longwall coal face in the Cloven Seam's V52 District at Cardowan Colliery injured 40 men on 27 January 1982, none fatally. The accident forced the colliery's closure while it was investigated, fed into a national review of ventilation and gas-monitoring practice, and became a landmark case study in mass burns treatment. |
27 January 1982 | Explosion | North Lanarkshire | 0 |
| Arkwright Town Methane Evacuation, 1988 Methane rising from the abandoned workings of Arkwright Colliery was found at explosive levels in the terraces of Arkwright Town six months after the pit closed; 110 people from 56 homes were evacuated for a fortnight, a pump was set in the old shaft, and British Coal eventually rebuilt the entire village on a new site and opencast the old one away. |
9 November 1988 | Gas / Asphyxiation | Derbyshire | 0 |