March 20th — This morning, about nine o'clock, a fatal boiler explosion occurred at Burradon Colliery, near Newcastle. A few minutes previous to the occurrence, the engineman, on examining the float, found the water more than a foot above the working mark, but, as the steam was low, he gave directions to the stoker, Robert Thompson, to raise the fires, soon after which the boiler suddenly burst with a tremendous noise, carrying away part of the engine-house and chimney, killing three persons, and injuring, more or less, several of the workmen at the shaft. The engineman escaped, though much scalded and bruised, but the stoker, a female, named Margaret Proctor, and a boy, named James Gordon, were killed on the spot.
Source:
Local Records or Historical Register of Remarkable Events by T. Fordyce, published in 1867
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