Colliery disaster

Disaster / Destruction

The Mauricewood Colliery Disaster, occurred at the Mauricewood pit, near Penicuik, Midlothian, Scotland on 5 September 1889. A total of 63 miners were killed.   On 5 September 1889 at around noon sections of the wood lining of a ventilation shaft ignited and the ensuing fire spread to a nearby coal seam, making an escape on the 239m deep main shaft impossible. At that time 70 men and boys were working underground, of which 63 died and 7 survived. The underground fire took four days to extinguish. It was not until 16 March 1890 that all the bodies of the victims were recovered. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauricewood_Colliery_disaster