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101-640: The Hartley Colliery disaster (also known as the Hartley Pit disaster or Hester Pit disaster ) was a coal mining accident in Northumberland , England, that occurred on 16 January 1862 and resulted in the deaths of 204 men and children. The beam of the pit's pumping engine broke and fell down the shaft, trapping the men below. The disaster prompted a change in British law that required all collieries to have at least two independent means of escape. Hartley old pit

202-495: A 1.5m x 1.2m cherry picker cage, which had saved them from being crushed by rocks. As it was not safe for rescuers to blast their way through, a special borer was brought in to drill an escape shaft. They were finally released on 9 May after 14 days underground. Three mining disasters occurred at Moura in a 20-year period. The first of these was in 1975, at the Kianga Mine, where 13 men died in an underground explosion. The mine

303-605: A depth of 1,030 meters caused the November 21 tragedy. The miners were attempting to retrieve €17 million ($ US22 million) worth of equipment from a tunnel when a blast caused the shaft to collapse. The tunnel was supposed to have been closed in March due to dangerously high methane concentrations, but was kept active because of the value of the equipment left behind. Several major mining accidents have happened in Russia, particularly

404-414: A fellow-viewer (a Mr Hall from Trimdon) penetrated further and found all the miners dead, but on their return to the bank were severely affected by the gas. Others went down later but many became seriously affected by the gas: they reported (according to the 'Newcastle Journal') dead men in every direction, most near the shaft; most seemed to have died placidly: "The exploring parties have seen little boys in

505-686: A free press, independent trade unions, citizen watchdog groups and other checks of official power has made cover-ups of mining accidents more possible, even in the Internet age. As a result, Chinese bureaucrats habitually hide scandals (such as mine disasters, chemical spills, the 2003 SARS epidemic, and tainted milk powder) for fear of being held accountable by the ruling Chinese Communist Party or exposing their own illicit deals with companies involved. Under China's authoritarian system, superiors reward subordinates for strict compliance with goals established by authorities, like reducing mine disasters. Indeed, should

606-470: A gold mine disaster in Australian history, left 63 children without fathers and 18 widows. The Bulli Mine Disaster of 23 March 1887 involved a gas explosion in the mine that killed 81 men and boys, leaving 50 women widows and 150 children without fathers. The Mount Kembla Mine Disaster of 31 July 1902 was an explosion resulting in the death of 96 miners, including two engaged in rescue work. It remains

707-400: A man dead, and another in critical condition. The two had been 'air legging' in a prohibited area under unsupported ground when the collapse occurred at 4:50pm. 29 other miners took refuge in a safety pod and were later brought to safety. The air legging technique is to be no longer used temporarily while a work safe investigation is underway. Australian Workers' Union organiser Ross Kenna said

808-617: A methane gas explosion in Bursa Province . In 2010, there was a mining disaster in Zonguldak Province which resulted in the deaths of 30 workers in a coal mine. The explosion was caused by a firedamp explosion. Previous mining disasters have also occurred here, one in 1992 resulted in the deaths of 270 workers. This was the worst mining disaster until the Soma mine disaster. Adit An adit (from Latin aditus , entrance) or stulm

909-428: A mine where the local topography permits. There will be no opportunity to drive an adit to a mine situated on a large flat plain, for instance. Also if the ground is weak, the cost of shoring up a long adit may outweigh its possible advantages. Access to a mine by adit has many advantages over the vertical access shafts used in shaft mining . Less energy is required to transport miners and heavy equipment into and out of

1010-536: A mining accident occur, the incentive to hide it is often stronger than the reward for managing it well, as any disaster is almost surely considered a liability. In November 2009, a mining accident in Heilongjiang killed at least 104 people. It is thought to have been caused by a methane explosion followed by a coal dust explosion . Three top officials involved with the mining company were promptly dismissed. On August 30, 2012, an explosion killed 45 people at

1111-736: A number occurs from the 1900s to 1980s in Japan, with introduce only large-scale disaster. The twelve mines in the Netherlands, four of which were state owned , were considered among the safest in the world, with only three larger accidents occurring during 70 years of mining: The most notable mining accident in New Zealand is the 1896 Brunner Mine disaster , which killed all 65 miners inside. On 19 November 2010, there were four explosions over nine days at Pike River mine ; 29 miners were killed and two escaped with minor injuries. On 19 January 1967, there

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1212-701: A pit coal mine in vast Inner Mongolia region's Alxa League . Nearly 900 rescuers, including a team from Ministry of Emergency Management , were sent to search for people. General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping ordered “all-out efforts in search and rescue” of all people. About 300 people were killed on May 9, 1993, in the Nambija mine disaster in Ecuador. On October 15, 2010, shortly after Chile completed its historic, successful rescue of 33 miners who had been stuck underground in

1313-499: A powerful pump. From 1929 onwards a series of takeovers and modernisations occurred until eventually in 1947 the new National Coal Board took over. The gradual decline followed with the whole colliery being abandoned in 1959, leaving a further 70 years (at peak production) worth of coal below ground. The inquest verdict was returned on 6 February 1862 and was 'accidental death' with riders including: The jury cannot close this painful inquiry without expressing their strong opinion of

1414-405: A second shaft before the end of 1864; the maximum penalty was £10, but the prohibition was enforceable by injunction. There was no similar legislation to outlaw the use of cast-iron beams in colliery pumping engines, but malleable iron beams became the rule in new installations. An 1863 paper describing a new pumping engine at Clay Cross noted that initially a cast-iron beam had been intended; after

1515-404: A sump connected to an adit below the low main seam up to the yard seam. There, a second stage lifted the water up to a sump in the high main. The pumps were driven by a nominal 300 horsepower (220 kW) beam engine working the pumps directly: the first two stages were driven by the main beam, and the third stage by a subsidiary beam above the pump staple ( C ). The pit was known as a wet pit and

1616-441: A total cost of about £3,600. Coal, men, and materials travelled up and down the shaft, which also accommodated the pumps. In addition, the shaft provided the vitally important fresh air ventilation and extraction of firedamp . In collieries with two or more pits (for instance see the description of Felling ), one pit was the "downcast pit" down which fresh air travelled, the other the "upcast pit" up which spent air escaped. Within

1717-465: A week and so the bodies were "considerably swollen and disfigured" and the smell from them offensive. It had been intended to put them into coffins while they were still down the mine, and the medical profession thought it unwise to allow the coffins to lie in the victims' homes until burial. In the event, the corpses were raised to the pit head to be identified as far as possible by the tally-boy, sprinkled with chloride of lime , shrouded, and coffined. In

1818-648: Is a horizontal or nearly horizontal passage to an underground mine . Miners can use adits for access, drainage, ventilation, and extracting minerals at the lowest convenient level. Adits are also used to explore for mineral veins . Although most strongly associated with mining, the term adit is sometimes also used in the context of underground excavation for non-mining purposes; for example, to refer to smaller underground passageways excavated for underground metro systems , to provide pedestrian access to stations ( pedestrian adits ), and for access required during construction ( construction adits ). Adits are driven into

1919-630: Is about ten miles (16 km) long. Other examples are the Great County Adit in Cornwall, a 40-mile (64 km)-long network of adits that used to drain the whole Gwennap mining area, and the 3.9 miles (6.3 km) Sutro Tunnel at the Comstock Lode in Virginia City , Nevada . A side benefit of driving such extensive adits is that previously unknown ore-bodies can be discovered, helping finance

2020-475: Is defined by the deepest open adit which is known as the "drainage adit". The term mine drainage tunnel is also common, at least in the United States. Workings above this level (known as "above adit") will remain unflooded as long as the adit does not become blocked. All mine workings below both the drainage adit ("below adit") and the water table will flood unless mechanical means are used for drainage. Until

2121-621: The Armutçuk coal mine 103 miners died due to a methane gas explosion. In March 1992 at the TCC Kozla mine, 263 miners were killed due to a firedamp explosion In 2008 there was another disaster which resulted in one person losing their life. In November 2013, 300 workers barricaded the Zonguldak mine in order to protest the working conditions. During the year of 2009, in December killed 19 miners due to

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2222-517: The Benxihu (Honkeiko) coal mine in Liaoning Province, China, what is believed to be the worst mining disaster in history occurred when a coal dust explosion killed over 1,500 people. The disaster occurred in an area that is now within the borders of modern-day China but was at the time part of the puppet state of Manchukuo established by Japan after it invaded and occupied northeast China in

2323-586: The Benxihu Colliery accident in China on April 26, 1942, which killed 1,549 miners. A dust explosion, the cause of which is not known with certainty, devastated a coal mine operated by the Compagnie des mines de houille de Courrières (founded in 1852) between the villages of Méricourt (404 killed), Sallaumines (304 killed), Billy-Montigny (114 killed), and Noyelles-sous-Lens (102 killed) about two kilometres (one mile) to

2424-476: The Glasgow Morning Journal . Others were less restrained: "Peril, imminent and unexpected, is the position in which the grandeur of British character stands forth in its full proportions. Give a terrible and stupendous disaster – such a disaster as in some department of industrial enterprise almost every year brings us, and let British workmen be present in the scene, either as victims or spectators – and

2525-500: The Journal reported ugly scenes at the pithead, with demands that the bodies be retrieved immediately; conversely, the workers in the shaft were becoming more reluctant to run the risk of the continuing rockfalls. On Friday, the rubbish in the shaft fell away to below the entrance to the yard seam, but rockfalls and releases of gas continued. By Saturday the works were complete and the sinkers and shaftmen withdrawn. The victims had been dead

2626-731: The Ulyanovskaya Mine disaster of 2007, which killed at least 106 miners. On January 20, 2013, at least four miners died and four more went missing following an accident at a coal mine in the Kuznetsk Basin, in western Siberia. In November 2021, the Listvyazhnaya mine disaster took place in Listvyazhnaya; many people were trapped. The history of mining in Spain has left a number of major mining accidents with hundreds of victims. The majority of

2727-457: The 1930s. The Japanese administrators of the mine forced Chinese labourers to conduct the mining work under harsh conditions. The disaster began with a fire in the mine. In order to suppress it, the Japanese operators cut off the air in the ventilation shafts and blocked off the mine so as to deprive the blaze of oxygen. Most workers were not evacuated before these actions, and they were trapped within

2828-519: The Australasian number 2 deep lead gold mine at Creswick in Victoria. The mine was violently flooded by a burst of water when miners digging a new drive approached too close to the abandoned and flooded Australasian number 1 workings, due to an error in surveying by the manager of the mine. 5 miners survived and were rescued after 50 hours trapped underground. This disaster, with the highest death toll from

2929-765: The New Hartley accident a wrought-iron beam was specified instead, adding £480 to the cost of the engine (£3130 excluding boiler, engine house and pumps). Mining accident Mining accidents can occur from a variety of causes, including leaks of poisonous gases such as hydrogen sulfide or explosive natural gases, especially firedamp or methane , dust explosions , collapsing of mine stopes , mining- induced seismicity , flooding, or general mechanical errors from improperly used or malfunctioning mining equipment (such as safety lamps or electrical equipment ). The use of improper explosives underground can also cause methane and coal dust explosions. On April 26, 1942, in

3030-572: The San Jose mine for a record period of nearly 10 weeks , four workers were trapped in an Ecuadoran gold mine following a tunnel collapse. All were confirmed dead by October 20. The Courrières mine disaster was the worst ever pit mine disaster in Europe. It caused the death of 1,099 miners (including many children) in Northern France on 10 March 1906. It seems that this disaster was surpassed only by

3131-715: The State Work Safety Supervision Administration, 4,749 Chinese coal miners were killed in thousands of blasts, floods, and other accidents. For example, a gas explosion at the Nanshan Colliery killed 24 people on November 13, 2006; the mine was operating without any safety license and the Xinhua News Agency claimed the cause was incorrect usage of explosives. However, the 2006 rate was 20.1% less than 2005 despite an 8.1% increase in production. The New York Times reported that China's lack of

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3232-533: The Sunday carts arrived at the cottages and most of the coffins were carried in procession to Earsdon Church. The graveyard was not large enough and more land was given by the Duke of Northumberland ; a large number of graves suddenly needed were dug by men from Seaton Delaval colliery. Fifty men were employed in digging the graves, and they did not complete their task until well after interments started (at about one thirty); dusk

3333-698: The Xiaojiawan coal mine in Sichuan province. A few days later on September 3, 2012, 14 miners were killed at Gaokeng Coal Mine in Jiangxi province. On March 29, 2013, a landslide trapped 83 people in the Gyama Mine in Tibet. On 4 January 2014 The Chinese Government stated that 1,049 people died in the year 2013, down 24 percent from 2012. On 22 February 2023, China recorded four deaths and 49 missing cases due to collapse of

3434-634: The accidents and casualties have happened in the North of Spain and are particularly related to coal mining, mainly due to the collapse of structures and gas explosions. Though, the worst recorded accident took place in Villanueva del Río, Sevilla , in the Southwest of the country on 28 April 1904, killing 63 people and leaving several more injured. A number of major mining accidents happened in South Africa including

3535-420: The arms of their fathers, and brothers sleeping dead in the arms of brothers". The dead pony was untouched; its corn bins had been emptied and some of the dead had corn in their pockets. Although the rescuers had thought they had heard signalling from the trapped men as late as Saturday night, the last entry in the notebook of the back overman described a prayer meeting held at 1.45 on Friday afternoon. The task

3636-412: The bank; the bottom dry spear was broken at a 'spear plate' (junction piece) opposite the high main. From his examination, they had failed under tension (and therefore, he deduced, before the beam broke). John Hosking gave expert evidence on the pump beam. He pointed to weakness in the beam design and its installation. There was too much metal in the central boss and in ribs, whose net effect was to weaken

3737-403: The beam had fallen. However it had fallen only 3 inches (76 mm), back into its bearings; the witness did not think so small a drop would have damaged the beam; he had not seen any damage to the beam, and the engine had run well until the beam failure. It was also noted that there were casting defects visible at the fracture surface. As the coroner had foreseen, a second inquest was needed and

3838-430: The beam had hit equipment on the 'in-house' (steam engine) side of the beam with great force; the shock loading causing brittle failure of the cast iron . John Short, the engine-wright, gave the basic information about the engine, the beam, and the pump spears. The beam had been made nearby by Messrs Losh, Wilson and Bell of Walker. It had been assembled from three components. A central ' gudgeon ' whose middle portion

3939-442: The beam. The orientation of the hexagonal holes (apexes at dead top and dead bottom) had both weakened the beam and given points from which a fracture could start. The beam had been secured on the gudgeon by driving wedges between them; from the hammer marks on the wedges, this seemed to have been done with excessive force, which would have introduced undesirably high local stress. It would have been better ('modern practice') to machine

4040-433: The blockage they were inconvenienced by fumes of carbon monoxide from the upcast furnace and from measures it had ignited. When a small penetration was finally made (3 a.m. Tuesday) there was a release of noxious gas ('carbonic oxide' i.e. carbon monoxide ) rendering some of the rescuers speechless; the entire working party had to be rescued and within half an hour the gas had risen to 4 fathoms (24 ft; 7.3 m) above

4141-455: The bottom spear had broken under normal load: "The wood does not appear to me to have been of very good quality. It might have been at one time, but is not now." He dismissed as irrelevant two points which had attracted comment: Blackwell's report to Grey (written a week after the inquest) concurred with Hosking and drew attention to factors which Blackwell felt had made the accident more likely than for most pumping engines; Told that all hope

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4242-408: The by then rested Chapman) then descended the pump staple and lowered a rope sling from the high main. William Shape and Ralph Robinson were brought up from the cage in this manner. Thomas Watson, a Primitive Methodist local preacher , had earlier descended from the cage to the men who had fallen. He remained with them to pray and comfort them until they died. Watson likewise ascended in a sling and

4343-430: The cause of the beam fracture. They differed over some details but were in general agreement that the 'spears' linking the engine beam to the pumps it was operating had failed in tension (some held that this had been triggered by a pump piston jamming; others held that the failure occurred simply because the spear was in poor condition). With the load on the beam removed, there had been an abnormally fast and large stroke and

4444-409: The central boss holes and the middle portion of the 'gudgeon' circular, with better engineered keying between beam and 'gudgeon'. An ironfounder considered the iron of good quality; its strength was demonstrated by the irregularity of the fracture surface, and its quality by the colour of the fracture surface when fresh. There was no undue contraction. Hosking did not think a pump piston had wedged,

4545-688: The collapse of a gold mine in Ndassima , killing 37 miners and injuring many others. In June 1945, during a fire, 355 workers died in El Teniente by inhaling carbon monoxide , in what was called the " Tragedia del Humo " (English: The Smoke Tragedy ). In January 2006, an explosion occurred in a mine in Copiapó , leaving 70 miners trapped underground. The miners were rescued after a brief period of time, but two people died. In August 2010, 33 miners were trapped underground in Copiapó. After two weeks communication

4646-441: The colliery the air was forced to traverse the whole of the workings by the use of walls of coal left in place, stoppings and traps. In this period, the normal means of creating the updraft needed was by using a furnace in the upcast pit. With a single shaft colliery this simple arrangement could not be followed, and so a timber brattice ( B ) was built from the top of the shaft to the bottom. Men and materials passed up and down on

4747-553: The consequence will invariably be an exhibition of noble daring, or magnificent fortitude, or unselfish devotion, such as it is impossible to obtain under other circumstances." thought the Athenaeum . The heroism of the volunteers who attempted to rescue the victims was marked by a special medal, the Hartley Disaster Medal; it was struck in gold for Coulson and in silver for the sinkers, who were also given money in proportion to

4848-412: The coroner expecting a "more particular inquiry, should some of the rest not be got out alive". The enginemen reported what they had seen and heard when the beam failed; one also told of an incident during maintenance about a month previously. The beam had been lifted by hydraulic jacks from its centre bearing to allow the bearing brasses to be replaced. During this operation, the hydraulics had failed, and

4949-526: The downcast side, the pumps worked in the upcast. At Hartley a furnace was kept burning in the yard seam ( E ) with the rising hot gasses passing up the furnace drift ( I ) to join and draw foul air up the upcast side of the shaft. The vulnerability of such an arrangement had already been identified and publicised before the colliery was sunk. An explosion at the St Hilda pit in South Shields in 1839 had led (as

5050-495: The east of Lens, in the Pas-de-Calais département (about 220 km, or 140 miles, north of Paris). A large explosion was heard shortly after 06:30 on the morning of Saturday 10 March 1906. An elevator cage at Shaft 3 was thrown to the surface, damaging pit-head workings; windows and roofs were blown out on the surface at Shaft 4; an elevator cage raised at Shaft 2 contained only dead and unconscious miners. Mine disaster of

5151-478: The end, however, as each body was coffined it was either sent home or, if unidentified, chalked "unknown" and sent to the Primitive Methodist chapel for later identification. The Journal reporter described the consequent appearance of the village: All the blinds were drawn; but, looking in at the open doors, we saw coffins in every house. In most instances, they lay upon the large bed, so characteristic of

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5252-626: The engine (capable of nine to ten strokes a minute) normally ran at about seven strokes a minute to cope with the water ingress; on loss of pumping the low main would flood within little more than a day from seawater percolating through the roof of the seam from the North Sea above it. Three miners from Hartley were amongst the death toll of an explosion at Burradon in 1860 because (explained the Durham Chronicle ) "little work has been doing at Hartley colliery lately owing to an accumulation of water". At

5353-404: The fire nursing their grief; and strong men, pale and dejected, were visibly suffering from the reaction of the excitement of the past week. The retrieval of bodies continued until four in the morning of Sunday; the yard seam was then checked thoroughly to ensure all bodies had been removed, and New Hartley and surrounding settlements canvassed to confirm that no body was missing. At one o'clock on

5454-605: The following accidents: The three worst mining accidents in Taiwan all happened in 1984: At least 56 miners were killed in April 1998 after heavy rains flooded tanzanite mine shafts. Five people were killed in July 2013 after the tanzanite quarry they were working in the Mererani mining hills collapsed above their heads. A sixth was admitted to hospital in critical condition. In March 1983, in

5555-423: The furnace drift, and thought they could hear noises from the men in the yard seam. They were then relieved by sinkers from nearby pits. William Coulson , the master sinker who had supervised the sinking of the shaft in 1845–46, was on a train passing through Hartley station on his way to another job. When passing through Newcastle that morning he had learnt of the accident; he sent a subordinate to see if assistance

5656-510: The geology of the mine is not suitable for the technique. On March 4, 1887, 120 miners died in a coal mine in La Boule, Borinage due to a methane explosion. On the morning of August 8, 1956, a fire in the mine Bois du Cazier in Marcinelle caused 262 victims, with only 12 survivors. A mining cart on an elevator cage hit an oil pipe and electricity lines, with the resulting fire trapping

5757-412: The high main. One of the deputies, Matthew Chapman, had been on his way home when he heard the crash. Retracing his steps he had himself lowered on a rope and started to clear away some of the debris with an axe. Realising that the man was exhausted, having just come off shift, the under-viewer Joseph Humble sent him home to rest whilst the main rescue effort was organised. The initial rescue attempt

5858-423: The high main. To restart some ventilation a cloth brattice was rigged from the yard seam down to the work area. This was made from lengths of bratticing cloth held by various local collieries and was not complete until Thursday. On Wednesday morning, with the bratticing incomplete, George Emmerson (one of Coulson's sinkers sent to investigate if what remained of the pumps would collapse further if debris around them

5959-421: The higher temperature underground and will naturally exhaust from vertical shafts, some of which are sunk specifically for this purpose. Most adits are designed to slope slightly upwards from the entrance so that water will flow freely out of the mine. Mines that have adits can be at least partly drained of water by gravity alone or power-assisted gravity. The depth to which a mine can be drained by gravity alone

6060-649: The hours they had spent in the shaft. An obelisk, commemorating those who died, was erected in the churchyard at St Alban's church in Earsdon . The Queen's telegram of condolence, after expressing sympathy for the widows and orphans, had asked 'what is doing for them?'. An appeal was set up to raise enough money to save them from destitution; it was thought that the victims had left 407 dependents and that up to £20,000 would have to be raised to provide for them. The British public responded generously; despite attempts to persuade them to give instead to other worthwhile causes, £20,000

6161-543: The imperative necessity that all working collieries should have at least a second shaft or outlet, to afford the workmen the means of escape should any obstruction take place, as occurred at the New Hartley Pit; and that in future the beams of colliery engines should be made of malleable metal. However, giving evidence, a prominent mining engineer, Thomas Emerson Forster , had given as his opinion that "Parliament should pass an act this session" requiring two shafts, but that

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6262-505: The invention of the steam engine this was the main restriction on deep mining. Adits are useful for deeper mines. Water only needs to be raised to the drainage adit rather than to the surface. Because of the great reduction in ongoing costs that a drainage adit can provide, they have sometimes been driven for great distances for this purpose. One example is the Milwr tunnel in North Wales, which

6363-456: The largest number of coal-mining fatalities, accounting for about 80% of the world's total, although it produced only 35% of the world's coal. Between January 2001 and October 2004, there were 188 accidents that had a death toll of more than 10, about one such accident every 7.4 days. After the 2005 Sunjiawan mine disaster , which killed at least 210 miners, a meeting of the State Council

6464-555: The materials used in colliery engines "might be left to the people who put up the engines. I myself think there will be no more cast-iron beams" and this view prevailed. On 7 August 1862, just six months after the inquest and less than seven months from the disaster, an Act of Parliament (the Act to Amend the Law Relating to Coal Mines of 1862) was passed. This required all new mines to have two shafts and all existing mines to ensure access to

6565-421: The men out alive, but these hopes were soon dashed. At the pit-head standers-by had expressed unease at the slow progress of the rescue operations. Two pitmen in their number (William Adams of Cowpen and Robert Wilson of Backworth) were invited to go down the pit and report back to their colleagues on how things stood; exceeding their instructions, they managed to enter the yard seam and found dead men. Humble and

6666-587: The mine was sealed, with the bodies of the 11 miners unretrieved. In the 1996 Gretley coal mine disaster, near Newcastle, four men were killed when their mining machine broke into the flooded workings of an old coalmine, abandoned over 80 years earlier. Four miners were killed in a windblast incident at the Northparkes mine outside the New South Wales town of Parkes in 1999. A mine collapsed at Ballarat Gold Mine in Victoria on March 14, 2024, resulting in

6767-423: The mine. It is also much easier to bring ore or coal out of the mine. Horizontal travel by means of narrow gauge tramway or cable car is also much safer and can move more people and ore than vertical elevators. In the past horses and pit ponies were used. In combination with shafts, adits form an important element in the ventilation of a mine : in simple terms, cool air will enter through an adit, be warmed by

6868-436: The miners. Most of the victims were immigrants (136 Italians, 8 Poles, 6 Greeks, 5 Germans, 5 Frenchmen, 3 Hungarians, 1 Englishman, 1 Dutchman, 1 Russian and 1 Ukrainian. ) On September 4, 2014, after a 3.5 Richter earthquake hit Zenica caused rock burst in coal mine "Raspotočje", 34 miners remained trapped inside the mine. It was later reported that 5 miners were killed in the accident . In June 2013, heavy rains provoked

6969-581: The old pit was abandoned in 1844. The coal was sufficiently valuable that the following year a new shaft ( A on the diagram alongside) was sunk about 1 mile (1,600 m) inland. The low main seam ( F ) was reached on 29 May 1846. The colliery was called the New Hartley Colliery and the shaft the Hester Pit. Around the pit a new village grew up that was called New Hartley. Women and very young children (they had to be aged 10 or above) were not employed in

7070-433: The pit and, according to E. Raper ( Social and Working Conditions in the village of New Hartley 1845–1900 ), this gave a higher standard of life for the miners: "the miner in New Hartley would return home after a hard day's work to a warm, clean, comfortable home and usually a substantial hot meal". In common with many collieries of the period and locality, only one shaft was dug, which was of 12-foot (3.7 m) diameter, at

7171-623: The pit was flooded to a depth of 8 fathoms (48 ft; 15 m) by water from the old pit. A powerful steam engine, 'the largest in the county employed in mining purpose', was therefore installed in 1855 to operate pumps to recover the pit. Pumping began in September 1855 (in June 1856 the pumping engine was shown off to a visiting French prince) but two years later the pit was not yet in full production and advertised for sale as 'just reopened'. The pumps were in three stages. The lowest stage lifted water from

7272-424: The pitman's dwelling … Sometimes the bed would not contain all the coffins; and then they were disposed on chairs beside it. And so we passed up the row, and saw two, and three, and four coffins all in one little room, till, at last, coming to the end house, we were appalled to see a perfect pile of them…; and looking round, we were informed that seven dead bodies lay in the cottage. In every house women were sitting by

7373-490: The practice for all new works (which it thought Parliament should legislate against), of sinking a single shaft and sub-dividing it by bratticing to separate in- and out-flowing ventilation air (since any explosion destroying the bratticing would destroy the ventilation of the mine and ensure the death by asphyxiation of those underground). It was later estimated that sinking two 8.5 feet (2.6 m) shafts instead of one 12 feet (3.7 m) would have cost an extra £900. In 1852,

7474-406: The relief of suffering caused by colliery accidents. The money provided financial backing for the first miners' relief societies, providing insurance against death or injury, whether in a disaster or incidental to routine operations (in 1862 it was estimated that for every million tons of coal produced, fifteen miners had died ). The Hartley Relief Fund was wound up in 1909; after buying annuities for

7575-539: The result of a public meeting) to the formation of a committee to consider the prevention of accidents in mines. The Shields Committee issued their report in 1843; it had found that mines in the North-East were unnecessarily at risk of explosions because they were generally inadequately ventilated with too few shafts for the size of the underground workings (a view supported by evidence from George Stephenson, amongst others). The committee's report had specifically argued against

7676-415: The sealed-off area of the mine; they suffocated to death as the fire burned off oxygen and led to carbon monoxide poisoning . Once the fire died out and the mine was re-opened, ten days were required for workers to remove debris and reach the bodies of those who had been trapped inside the mine. The dead consisted of 1,518 Chinese and 31 Japanese. Most of the bodies were later buried in a mass grave. After

7777-399: The shaft. Although much of the brattice was destroyed, the first part seems to have deflected the beam away from the cage. Other debris fell on the cage, snapping two of the four support chains. Four of the eight men fell; the others managed to cling on. The beam came to rest jammed in the shaft and other falling debris created a blockage 30 yards (27 m) deep between the yard seam and

7878-429: The side of a hill or mountain, and are often used when an ore body is located inside the mountain but above the adjacent valley floor or coastal plain. In cases where the mineral vein outcrops at the surface, the adit may follow the lode or vein until it is worked out, in which case the adit is rarely straight. The use of adits for the extraction of ore is generally called drift mining . Adits can only be driven into

7979-512: The ten surviving dependents £13,000 was left and went to the Northumberland and Durham Aged Miners' Homes Associations; the accommodation built with the money was to bear a suitable inscription. Hester pit was never reopened. In 1874 a new colliery consisting of the Hastings and Melton pits was sunk nearby. In 1901 the low main workings of the old Hester pit were reentered, having been drained by

8080-462: The time of the disaster, the high main had been worked out and was closed off; the yard seam was being worked, but only by a few men (and a pit pony ); the workings in the low main seam at Hester Pit were being extended to meet those at the Mill Pit at Seaton Sluice ; within the year it would have been possible to escape from Hester Pit via the Mill Pit. In the meantime, a staple was provided within which

8181-505: The war and liberation of China by the Soviet Union, the disaster was investigated. The Soviet report concluded that the majority of the deaths were not caused directly by the initial fire but were the result of carbon monoxide poisoning and suffocation resulting from the decisions of the Japanese. This is an incomplete list of notable mining accidents and disasters that have killed at least 10 persons: 22 miners drowned in December 1882 in

8282-471: The worst mining disaster in Australian history. A coal dust explosion at the Mount Mulligan mine on 19 September 1921 killed 75 or 76 workers. Tasmania's Beaconsfield Mine collapse occurred on 25 April 2006. Of the 17 people who were in the mine at the time, 14 escaped immediately following the collapse, one was killed and the remaining two were found alive after five days. The survivors were trapped in

8383-408: Was 8 feet (2.4 m) at the central boss; it weighed over 40 tons. The spears ran as a single main dry spear of 14 inches (360 mm) square Memel pine to just above the high main. A 'Y' then connected the main spear both to the wet spear of the second stage pump and to the 10 inches (250 mm) square dry spear of the bottom pump. Coulson reported that the main spear had broken 12–14 feet below

8484-435: Was a ladder; this allowed escape to the yard seam from the low main should there be a major inrush of water ("the only thing that was feared"). On Thursday 16 January 1862 the fore shift went on duty at 02:30. At 10:30 the same morning the back shift were taking over from the fore shift, so most men of both shifts were at the coal face. As the first eight men were ascending, the beam of the pumping engine snapped and fell down

8585-587: Was an explosion in the Strongman Mine , near Greymouth , on the West Coast . 19 people were killed. A gold mine collapse in Maradi Region in 2021, killed dozens. On November 25, 2006, the worst mining disaster occurred in modern Polish history, 23 miners lost their lives at Halemba Coal Mine , a colliery in the town of Ruda Śląska in the southern industrial province of Silesia . A methane explosion at

8686-410: Was carried out under the direction of Humble, Carr (owner and viewer ), G B Hunter (Cowpen & North Seaton), Hugh Taylor (Backworth) and Matthias Dunn (HM Inspector of Mines). By midnight rescuers had reached the damaged cage and George Sharp Snr was brought up in a rope sling. However, he jammed against some overhanging timbers, came out of the sling and fell to his death. The rescuers (including

8787-614: Was convened to work on measures to improve work safety in coal mines. The meeting's statement indicated serious problems such as violation of safety standards and overproduction in some coal mines. Three billion yuan (360 million US dollars) were dedicated for technological renovation on work safety, gas management in particular, at state-owned major coal mines. The government also promised to send safety supervision teams to 45 coal mines with serious gas problems and invite colliery safety experts to evaluate safety situations in coal mines and formulate prevention measures. In 2006, according to

8888-420: Was established in the coastal village of Hartley , Northumberland, (today part of Seaton Sluice ) during the 13th century; the earliest existing records date from 1291. The colliery suffered increasingly from flooding as the seams were worked out under the sea and in 1760 the first atmospheric engine was installed, followed later by more powerful engines. Despite these efforts, the flooding became so severe that

8989-477: Was falling as the last coffin was buried. A list was published of 'the workmen left alive that were employed at Hartley Colliery': there were only fifty-five. The loss of life was extreme, even by Victorian era coal mining standards, and remains one of the worst mining accidents in England. An inquest was held on Tuesday 21 January 1862 on the five men killed directly by the beam fall, but this heard little evidence,

9090-534: Was held 4–6 February 1862. Sir George Grey , the Home Secretary (to whom the Mining Inspectorate reported) sent down an expert ((John) Kenyon Blackwell) to assist the coroner. Blackwell was to make a separate report on technical issues and was to use the inquest as an opportunity to collect information for his own report. At the second inquest, a variety of experts and experienced men gave their opinions on

9191-411: Was hexagonal was threaded through a hexagonal hole in the central boss of two massive castings joined back-to-back with bolts, studs and spacers. Each casting had a thickness of 15 inches (380 mm) at the central boss, and 9 inches (230 mm) at the upper and lower edges with a web thickness of 4.75 inches (121 mm). The beam had an effective span of 34.5 feet (10.5 m); its greatest height

9292-460: Was lost, Queen Victoria (who was herself in mourning, having lost her husband, Prince Albert , only a month previously) sent a telegram of condolence, following it up by a letter: "Her Majesty commands me to say that her tenderest sympathy is with the widows and mothers and that her own misery only makes her feel the more for them". In her personal journal she recorded: "The accounts of the colliery accident are terrible, — such awful misery". The letter

9393-417: Was made with them but it was said at least four more months would pass before they could be rescued, though essential services could still be provided. The rescues began on October 12, 2010, and all the 33 miners were rescued within 22 hours of first rescue. News of the success of the team led to celebrations around the country and much of the region . According to one source, in 2003 China accounted for

9494-401: Was needed. On offering his services, he was put in charge late on Friday afternoon, the previous committee yielding to his greater experience. There were occasional falls of rock from the sides of the shaft below the high main workings. By Saturday night, the rescuers were about 4 fathoms (24 ft; 7.3 m) above the furnace drift. At this depth the shaft crossed a 'trouble'; when rubbish

9595-419: Was now recovery of bodies, and, the check-viewer told the waiters at the pit-head, it was no good throwing away the lives of living men to obtain the bodies of dead men: further entries into the yard seam were suspended until the canvas bratticing was completed, and the shaft properly timbered and cleared further to allow the yard seam to be accessed directly, rather than via the furnace drift. The following day,

9696-536: Was raised in London alone; the total receipts of the Hartley Relief Fund came to £83,000. A fuller reckoning of dependents including 26 posthumous children brought their number up to 467, but even on the most pessimistic assumptions, only £55,000 was needed to provide for them, so in 1863 £20,000 was distributed between the districts covered by each mining inspector, to be administered by local committees and applied for

9797-513: Was read by clergy to the widows which was "a great comfort and a consolation to them". The newspapers were struck not only by the misery of the widows, but by the Christian resignation of the victims, and the heroic determination of those attempting to rescue them: "Everyone must be struck by the good sense, the Christian principle, the intelligence, and bravery of many of the miners who have been brought into public notice by this disastrous event" said

9898-401: Was removed below this there were massive rock falls, with the shaft expanding to up to 27 feet (8.2 m) across in some directions. It became necessary to timber up the sides to secure them before attempting to go lower in the shaft; this took about twelve hours. From Sunday morning onwards, a small hole was excavated through the fallen stone towards the furnace drift. As the men worked through

9999-487: Was removed) got three yards into the furnace drift before being forced back by the gas. He had seen an axe, saw and sawn timber, indicating that trapped miners had attempted to escape along that route; but the tools were rusty. Carr felt able to reply to a telegram sent from Osborne House ("The Queen is most anxious to hear that there are hopes of saving the poor people in the colliery, for whom her heart bleeds") that there were still faint hopes of getting at least some of

10100-404: Was sealed without their bodies being retrieved. In 1986 a second disaster occurred, as an underground explosion, which took the lives of 12 miners. The bodies of all those persons were retrieved. In Moura on 7 August 1994 a third major mining accident occurred with an explosion at Moura No. 2 Mine. A second explosion at the mine approximately a day and a half later saw rescue attempts abandoned, and

10201-459: Was therefore the last man out alive. With the pumps stopped, all knew that the low main would quickly flood. Those on the surface, therefore, assumed correctly that the men below would make their way via the staple up to the yard seam. Throughout the night men continued to work from ropes. By 9 am. Friday the rescuers had removed the debris in the shaft (mostly timber from the brattice) to within about 5 fathoms (30 ft; 9.1 m) from

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