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Full Details

Surname
YATES
Forename
Thomas
Day
04
Month
10
Year
1907
Age
18
Occupation
Dataller
Mine/Quarry Name
Fogg's
Mineral Worked
Coal
Owner
A. Knowles & Sons Ltd
Location
Darcy Lever
County
Lancashire
Details of Event
The men were ascending one end of the cage got in the path of the descending cage at one corner the collision caused the rope of the ascending cage to draw from the capping setting free the cage Owen's Safety Catches did not hold, the cage with the ten men fell to the bottom crashed through wooden beams into water in the dib hole the cage wedged itself against the shaft side a few yards below the surface of the water. The conductors of wood 5 inches square at each end of the cage the horse trees or bearers were 5 inches square and 15 feet apart all of pitchpine. All the shoes of the ascending cage were found to be intact in proper position after the accident. The cause of the accident was primarily, a wood conductor broke setting free the cage, the clearance between the cages at the meetings was 3.5 inches, the overlap was proved to have been 3.25 inches at the corner diminishing to nothing at 2 feet 9 inches from the corner, length of cage 6 feet 3.5 inches. A secondary cause was the weakness of the rope capping which was one of the ordinary hooped ones. 10 killed.