Description

A dreadful explosion of gas occurred in Houghton Colliery, the property of the Earl of Durham. From the close contiguity of the colliery to the town from which it derives its name, the alarm spread in all directions, and the usual quietude gave place to the greatest consternation by the report that 150 lives were destroyed, that number being down the pit at the time of the accident. A number of brave men volunteered, with the usual magnanimity displayed under such circumstances, to make an attempt to save their relatives and friends, and, after five hours arduous exertions, they succeeded in rescuing one hundred and twenty four men and boys, many of whom were in a state of insensibility, the remainder, twenty six on number, were found dead. The sufferings of the survivors, during the protracted period which elapsed before their deliverance, were of the most intense character, both bodily and mental, and the meeting between them and their disconsolate families, who had given them up as lost, will never be forgotten by those that witnessed it. The sufferers, with two exceptions, were unmarried, and the Earl of Durham ordered that every necessary relief should be afforded them.

Related Articles

Further Reading

• Durham Mining Disasters, c.1700 - 1950s by Maureen Anderson, Published by Wharncliffe Books, 2008, ISBN 1-845630-73-4
• The Miners of Northumberland and Durham by Richard Fynes, first published in 1873

Sources

• Local Records or Historical Register of Remarkable Events by T. Fordyce, published in 1867
• Sunderland Herald

Researchers

 Return    Return to Top