Middle Duffryn Colliery Explosion – Aberdare – 1850

MIDDLE DUFFRYN. Aberdare, Glamorganshire. 12th. December, 1850.

A roof fall brought down a pocket of gas, which was ignited by the naked flame of a candle. The resulting explosion killed eight miners outright, including one man on the surface, who was killed when the force of the blast smashed the staging at the pit top on which he was standing.

Five others later died of their injuries.

REFERENCES
Annals of Coal Mining. Galloway. Vol. 2. p. 123.
Mining Journal Vol. xx, p.600.
Inspectors Reports, 1852 and 3.
The Report of the Select Committee on Accidents in Coal Mines, 1853.
The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian
”And they worked us to death”. Vol.1. Ben Fieldhouse and Jackie Dunn. Gwent Family History Society.
Merthyr Guardian.

Information supplied by Ian Winstanley and the Coal Mining History Resource Centre.