Number 93 Pit, Redding, situated about 2} miles from Fal kirk in ground Honeycombed with the waterlogged workings of old] worked.out mines. It is worked by Sir Andrew Nimmo & Ca. The sais of coal ie beneath the old: Coxtod Pit, a worked-out mine! full of stagnant, water. Between those and the Redding Pit, there} was a geological "fault! con-of a natural—sandstone barrier. The minors called it the "Universal Dyko."" Some of them, of the mines, fault was a reliable barrier between the Red: ding Pit and the old water-logged workings, Others doubted it The maps and plans of "the old workings were known to be: imperfect, The coal seams in the Redding, converged on the main shaft at on acute angle. The highest gallery was the Dublin section Where the miners were stripping the coal away from the Universal Dyke. For a long time water had been coming through the roof of] this section. in increasing quan. tities, A, witness stated "that in haulage way and & special ariel had boob cut to drain it The under manager admitted] that a fireman had called his attention to it and had also point ed out that it was foul smelling. Ho tated, however, that his. sense of smell was deficient and he could nob verify that. In his opinion ab the time it was water from sur face drainage.
just before the night shift ceased work on thes morning of September 96 0 fireman gave a note to a 19-year old youth and told him to take it to the under manager's houie. At that very moment, the youth heard in) "hump" in the distance and the it ourrent reversed, The fireman walked off in the direction of the found and was drowned. 'The youth delivered the note. Tt, in-Formed the under-manager that water bad broken through into the Dublin section and was knee deep on the slope. The pumps could not cope with it, and would the under-manager come at once' to the pit. "In 20 minutes he was there, bub on descending found 14 ft. of water at the pit bottom and the entrance to the main workings; off.
A Deseeeane stRvoote, Witmessos at the inquiry gave evidence of the desperate struggle for life that had taken place in the it during the intervening, shalt jour. Two or three men, fought their way to the pit bottom, climbed the pit stair, and tumbled into the cage as it descended. Most of the others desperately} raced up the slanting roads away' from the rising waters. Brave men turned back to warn comrades and were drowned. Millions of gallons of dirty water poured down from the break-in the Dublin section, raced through the Ball earn, dnd filled wp. all the lower Portions, of the. mine, cutting off alli means of ingress to the slant
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.