Lancashire No. 18 Coal Mine (United States)

(From Bureau of Mines report by J. W. Paul)

About 3:00 p.m. when the explosion happened, there were 47 men in the mine; 36 were killed and 11 escaped unhurt. The explosion originated at an aircourse face, where a "flameproof" mining machine had ignited gas.

The ventilation of advanced faces was makeshift and irregular, and the cover of the rheostat on the machine was loosely bolted and part of the gasket missing; arcing was evident.

The explosion, fed by dust, extended into a neighboring set of entries and up the slope with decreasing violence. At the surface the fan housing was slightly sprung and a volume of smoke and dust blown out of the main slope.

Twelve men in 6th right felt the concussion and 11 escaped by a surface opening. One man went to the main slope and died there. All of the men in the gassy section beyond 6th right were killed where they were; the others died from afterdamp.

Rescue teams with apparatus searched the mine and helped to recover the bodies. Operation of the mine was discontinued.

Source:
Historical Summary of Mine Disasters in the United States - Volume I
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