Lofthouse Colliery Disaster - Lofthouse, UK - Disaster Memorials on Waymarking.com

The pit is no longer operational and closed in 1981. In 1989 work started to reclaim the area and turn it into a nature park. The mine shafts were infilled and the land planted with locally native trees and plants.

As well as being a nature park, there is also a heritage trail around the area with information boards giving information about the site.

Lofthouse Colliery Heritage Trail

Lofthouse Colliery Disaster

On 21 March 1973, an event occurred at Lofthouse Colliery that was to change British mining dramatically.

On the nightshift of 20 March 1973.30 men had set off for a normal shift at work, unaware that they were working close to abandoned and flooded 19th century mine workings. Just after 2 am on 21 March the coalface where the men were working (South 98 Face) collapsed and flooded when the coal-cutting machine sheared into the old mine workings. Over three million gallons of water, sludge and slurry inundated the face. The inrush was so great that men had to run for their lives, pursued by a torrent of sludge. Seven men were trapped on South 9B.

Three old shafts appeared in a field close to the face where the men were working and water could be heard cascading down these from old workings.

The Rescue Attempt

A major rescue operation was launched. The deluge that filled the tunnels leading to the South 9B Face was so dense that pumps were unable to cope, and specialist Mines Rescue personnel, who were trained as scuba-divers, were unable to penetrate it for more than 20 yards, before aborting the rescue attempt. Unsuccessful efforts were made to reach the trapped men via a 6" borehole from the surface.

On 28 March. access was made to one of the face roadways via a 'piggyback' tunnel over the top of the debris blocking the tunnel. Rescue Teams entered the roadway and found it solidly blocked some 917 yards in. The tunnel was filled with irrespirable air. The body of one man was found at this stage and recovered. The rescue attempt was abandoned, with the remaining men left entombed. They are assumed to have been killed instantly.

Those who lost their lives

Eddie (Paddy) Finnegan	40	Deputy
Alan Haigh	30	Face worker
Frank Bllingham	48	Face worker
Sidney St-Clair Brown	36	Face worker
Frederick Armitage	41	Face worker
Charles Cotton	49	Face worker
Colin Barnaby	36	Face worker

Public Inquiry

A lengthy public inquiry followed, which concluded that the disaster could have been avoided. The National Coal Board had been aware of the abandoned shaft that had been breached, but had assumed it did not descend to the same depth as the new Lotthouse workings. Checks revealed that there were 125 old mineshalts in the working area of Lofthouse Colliery.

The disaster at Lofthouse led to sweeping changes in mining legislation regarding old and abandoned mineworkings. in particular the Mines (Precautions Against Inrushes) Regulations 1974.

Obelisk

The obelisk is a memorial to Lofthouse Colliery, and a tribute to all those who worked here. It represents a mine shaft looking from the bottom upwards, hence the reducing diameter.

Disaster Date: 03/20/1973 Memorial Sponsors: Lofthouse Colliery Action Group Disaster Type: Technological Relevant Website: [Web Link] Date of dedication: Not listed Parking Coordinates: Not Listed

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