The fourth and final miner trapped 90m (295ft) underground in a flooded Swansea Valley colliery has been found dead.The men had been trapped in the flooded Gleision Colliery near Pontardawe since Thursday morning.The bodies of Charles Breslin, 62, David Powell, 50, Garry Jenkins, 39, and Phillip Hill, 45, were all located on Friday.Around 200 rescuers have been involved over the two days.Three other miners managed to escape as the flood water engulfed the drift mine when a retaining wall holding back a body of water underground failed.Two of them have been assisting rescuers, while another was being treated in hospital.
I'd like to suggest, on behalf of those members of the forum with varying professional involvements in the field, that all parties refrain from speculative comments Thank you
The involvement of the SMWCRT in this incident has just been reported by Jopo on UKCaving.http://ukcaving.com/board/index.php?topic=12489.0 scroll to reply #11.
A 55-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter following the Gleision mining tragedy in the Swansea Valley.Police have not named the man arrested but the BBC understands that it is the mine manager Malcolm Fyfield. He is in custody at Port Talbot police station.He was injured in the incident and was taken to Morriston Hospital in Swansea but was recently released.Four men died after becoming trapped in the mine on 15 September.Philip Hill, 44, Charles Breslin, 62, David Powell, 50 and Garry Jenkins, 39, died, and three others escaped when the drift mine flooded.Their families and community leaders have been updated with news of the arrest at an address in the Swansea Valley on Tuesday morning.South Wales Police are working with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths.The force said that examination of the scene at Cilybebyll, near Pontardawe, is complete and the mine is now closed and under the control of the Coal Authority.Det Ch Insp Dorian Lloyd, of the South Wales Police specialist crime team, is the senior investigating officer leading the investigation into the deaths.He said: "The arrest follows consultation between the South Wales Police, HSE and the Crown Prosecution Service to review the evidence gathered to date."We continue to work closely with the bereaved families throughout this process and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the communities affected by this incident for their continued support and patience."He said they would do everything possible to fully understand how the four men lost their lives.
How do you mean ambiguous?Regarding the Gleision,the rules drawn up after the Lofthouse disaster,were clearly not adhered to,in any way or form.