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Full Details

Surname
ERVING
Forename
Miles Jubilee
Day
23
Month
12
Year
1905
Age
18
Occupation
Screener
Mine/Quarry Name
Chopwell
Mineral Worked
Coal
Owner
Consett Iron Co. Ltd
Location
Chopwell
County
Durham
Details of Event
The coal for coking, after being pulverised by a disintegrator, is raised by an elevator and poured into the top of a large brick-built hopper capable of holding over 1,000 tons, from the bottom of which it is drawn through 16 openings to load an electrically driven wagon holding 7 tons the complete charge of one of the coke ovens. The coal in the hopper was sticking and not coming freely to one of the openings and deceased and another young man descended into the hopper which was then nearly half full by a ladder from the top and with the illumination of three electric lights were using shovels to trim the coal. Deceased was standing on the coal and near him to one of the brickwork sides some coal was sticking in a nearly vertical position and about a yard thick; the coal be stood on slipped away and he fell forward and the coal against the side came away and buried him and his body was recovered about half an hour afterwards through one of the openings in the bottom. The Jury added a recommendation to their verdict of ‘accidental death’ that some means should be devised to prevent a similar accident.