| Disasters - Names |
|
Disasters - Names | ||
 |
 |
|||
| Date: | 19th January 1892 |
| Colliery: | Langley Park, Kaysburn Sinking Pit |
| Company: | Consett Iron Co., Ltd. |
| Cause: | Thrown down shaft |
| Lives Lost: | 1 |
| Category: |
 |
 |
| Description | |
|
|
No. 4 on the list occurred at the Kaysburn Sinking Pit of Langley Park Colliery, belonging to the Consett Iron Company, Limited, on the 19th of January, about 8.20 o'clock a.m., causing the death of John William Mason, a sinker.
The evidence given by the master sinker at the inquest best explains the accident. It was as follows :—
"Deceased was under me in the service of the Company, and was one of the charge men, and a sinker of considerable experience. We had to lower a pump, weighing about 35 cwts., to bout 40 fathoms down the shaft, and for that purpose used two ropes, one being the steel-wire crab rope, and the other a hemp rope, which was made fast to the other end of the pump to steady it in the shaft ; it was passed round the head-gear leg and then held by two men, one of them being the deceased. The shaft is 10 feet in diameter, and the pump 2 feet 8 inches outside of the flanges. I was standing giving orders, and, when I saw all was right, I shouted 'Heave the crab.' The horse went round a few times and lifted the pump off the tram, on which it was places, at one end. The tram was within six feet of the shaft, running on rails placed at one side of the shaft. I had tied the end of the hemp rope, and passed it round the leg, and then left it in charge of deceased, so as I could go to the other end to look after the tram. Between my leaving him and getting to the tram, deceased told one of the other men to fasten the loose end of the hemp rope to the tram. After the pump was lifted, the tram ran forward ; I had hold of it, but, on account of it being fastened to the rope, I could not guide it past the shaft as I usually did, as, when the rope tightened, the line of it inclined to the shaft and the tram fell in. Deceased had been standing in amongst some coils of the hemp rope, and, when the tram ran forward, these were tightened, and he got entangled and was thrown into the shaft. I assisted to get him out. I did not know he was going to fasten the rope or I should have objected. If the rope had not been fastened to both ends I do not think this accident could have occurred."
It is not necessary, I think, to add anything to this account of how the accident was caused; it gives all the details necessary to make it intelligible.
A boy, who was watching the operations out of curiosity, had a narrow escape, the rope caught and threw him right across the top of the shaft against a brick pillar at the opposite side. He was seriously injured, but ultimately recovered.
| Source: | 1892 Mines Inspectors Report (C 6986), Durham District (No. 4) by Thomas Bell, H.M. Inspector of Mines, Page: 7 Where to find this report |
|
|
| Fatalities | |
|
|
 | Mason, John William, aged 35, Sinker, got entangled in a rope, while levering pumps, and was thrown down the shaft, a distance of 100 yards |
All names found | |
Those names marked with |
Return
Return to Top
Contains public sector information licensed under the 
