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	Disasters - Names		Disasters - Names

Date:	24th April 1891
Colliery:	Murton
Company:	South Hetton Coal Co., Ltd.
Cause:	(See description below)
Lives Lost:	1
Category:

No. 17 on the list also occurred at Murton Colliery, belonging to the South Hetton Coal Company, Limited, on the 24th of April, about 9.50 a.m., causing the death of Thomas Coulson, a landing boy. It appears a set ran into the landing deceased was employed at, about 10 yards past its mark, and the in-bye lads could not get the couplings changed, and the set had to be brought out to enable them to do so. Deceased was told to rap "two and a cock up," which meant "slack off the drum." He had attached the winch chain on to the rope, so as to pull it in-bye when slack was given, he, however, rapped three, which meant "bend up." The hauling engineman, in response to the rap, commenced to pull the rope out-bye, and in doing so tightened the winch chain, and this in its turn caused the handle of the winch to fly round, which caught deceased on the head, smashing his skull, and he died soon afterwards. There was a "poul" on the winch, but it was not in use at the time, even if it had I do not think it would have prevented the accident, because the hauling engine would have broken it or some other part of the winch,

Source:

1891 Mines Inspectors Report (C 6625), Durham District (No. 4) by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines, Page: 8 Where to find this report

	Coulson, Thomas, aged 15, Landing Boy, while changing ropes at junction with a winch he gave a wrong signal, the engine started and the winch handle struck him on the head
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