| Disasters - Names |
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Disasters - Names | ||
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| Date: | 4th October 1899 |
| Colliery: | Ryhope |
| Company: | Ryhope Coal Co., Ltd. |
| Cause: | By explosives |
| Lives Lost: | 1 |
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| Description | |
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No. 378 on the list occurred at Ryhope Colliery, belonging to Messrs. Ryhope Coal Co., Ltd., on October 4th, causing the death of a stoneman two days afterwards.
The man who was killed, had drilled, charged and stemmed a hole in a top stone canch, in a gateway in the Hutton Seam, and when the shot-firer came in to fire it, he assisted to connect the cable to the shot. The shot-firer then went back to a place of safety, and connected the cable to the battery, and after he had done this he saw a light come out of the gateway which he said he thought was carried by the deceased man, and that he said "right"; so he fired the shot, but on going back to it, he found that the deceased was close to the hole, and that he had been very seriously injured about the head.
He was got out of the pit, and taken to the infirmary at Sunderland, where he died two days afterwards.
It transpired that the light the shot-firer saw belonged to, and was carried by, the man who was working along with deceased, and that this man was not seen by the shot-firer when he was in the place, as he was under the canch near the coal face, about 9 yards beyond where the shot was being fired.
The accident was caused by the shot-firer neglecting to see that everyone was out of the place before he fired the shot. It was his duty to connect the cable to the shot, and to be the last man in the place before a shot was fired, and to see that all men were out, and if he had done so, this unfortunate accident would not have happened.
At the inquest the manager of the colliery and the representatives of the workmen bore testimony to the shot-firer being a most careful man, and said he had been deputy for 30 years, and he had never been in a Coroner's Court before. He appeared to feel his position very keenly.
He was warned to be more careful in future, which I trust he will do.
| Source: | 1899 Mines Inspectors Report (Cd 134), Durham District (No. 4) by R. D. Bain, H.M. Inspector of Mines, Page: 28 Where to find this report |
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| Fatalities | |
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 | Guthrie, William, aged 25, Stoneman, After having drilled, charged with carbonite, and stemmed a hole, he assisted the shot-firer to connect it with the battery. The shot-firer came out of the gateway first, and seeing another light come out, he took it to be deceased's, and so fired the shot. It afterwards transpired that it was deceased's marrow who came out of the place, and deceased had been in all the time and was so badly injured that he died on the 6th inst. The shot-firer said he only saw one light in the face when he was in, and he thought he heard the deceased man shout "right" when the light came out. |
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