Durham Mining Museum - James Knox (original) (raw)

An explosion occurred on December 13th in the Main Band Seam at Haig Colliery, Cumberland, belonging to the Whitehaven Colliery Co., Ltd., causing the death of two deputies and two workmen, and slight injuries to 3 others.

The seam is 10 feet in thickness and is worked on the bord and pillar system. There are three districts and shortly before the explosion occurred deputies had made the necessary inspections before commencing work for the incoming shift of men, and had recorded their reports, which stated that the workings were free from firedamp. The only additional men m the inbye districts were two repairers who had been sent into the engine dip in the No. 3 district to repair brattice.

Shotfiring is usually done between shifts when the men are out of the districts and the last shots in the inbye district were fired in a back drift by the deputy at 9.5 p.m. The oncoming shift of men were riding inbye in the workmen s set, when the explosion occurred about 10 p.m. and they returned to the surface. The three deputies were at their meeting stations, ready to admit the men. The deputy for the outbye district was severely shaken but was able to proceed to the shaft bottom, but the two inbye deputies were killed at their posts.

A rescue party descended the mine and proceeded to the inbye district where a fire was detected in a coal pillar in a dilly road about 50 yards from the level. Brattice stoppings were erected to reduce the volume of air reaching the fire, and the rescue team trained in the use of breathing apparatus was summoned from the fresh air base to examine the engine dip workings. One of the repairers was found by them dead, he had evidently been in the act of walking outbye when he collapsed. A search for his comrade proved unavailing, and later an attempt was made to put out the fire with extinguishers, without success. As firedamp was accumulating in the neighbourhood of the fire it was decided to seal the two inbye districts with two intake and one return stopping and this work was completed about 4.45 a.m. on December 15th, 30¾ hours after the explosion occurred. A complete investigation as to the cause of the explosion became impossible owing to the sealing of the areas, but the observations made, pointed to the blast having travelled outbye on No. 2 level with some violence. Until the workings can be reopened I do not propose to comment on this unfortunate disaster except to say that the very efficient stone dusting of the main engine plane effectively limited its magnitude.

• 1927 Mines Inspectors Report

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