The explosion occurred about 8 p.m. in the sixth hour of the afternoon shift on Friday 10th January 1947 when 76 men were at work underground. It originated at the face of the rise split off No.14 Level, in one of James Todd’s working places in the No.2 District when firedamp was ignited at an open acetylene cap lamp. One man, John McGarty was blown down the face by the force of the explosion and received injuries from which he died a few minutes late. The explosion started fires which spread to various parts of the district and 14 men who were employed in the section of narrow workings on the return side of the extraction area, lost their lives from the afterdamp and fumes from the first explosion and the subsequent fires.

During the normal course of the afternoon shift, three men, James Todd, Thomas Reid and John McGarty were at work in adjoining stooping places, No. 14 Level face and a rise split a short distance outbye from the face of No.14 Level in the No.2 district. Todd was an experienced shale miner and was the faceman in charge of these two places with Reid and McGarty as his drawers. Todd used an electric safety lamp for use in each of the two working places and Reid an open acetylene cap lamp.

McGarty, contrary to the custom used an electric safety cap lamp. Each drawer carried a flame safety lamp for use in the two working places which were suspended near the face while work was in progress. In accordance with the rules of the mine, these lamps were used by Todd who had been instructed how to use them to test for gas at the start of work and before shots were fired.

These three men had worked in the two places from about 3.30 p.m. until about 7 p.m. when they went outbye to eat their food, taking two flame safety lamps with them. There were no shots fired that afternoon. About 8 p.m. the three returned to their working places, Todd and Reid to the split and McGarty to the face at the No.14 level.

Todd had his electric lamp and was carrying a flame lamp in his hand and he went to examine for gas at the face at the rise of the split, while Reid, who was his drawer, remained at the entrance to the split to clear some fallen shale which Todd had pulled down on his way out for the meal.

It appeared that during the meal break, the roof in the split to the rise had weighted heavily and had broken most of the timber props that were set to support the roof. This was a great surprise to Todd and before he examined it for gas, he called to Reid to come and see it. At the time Reid was about 5 yards from the face with his open acetylene lamp which ignited gas near the roof. The ignition was accompanied by a rumbling noise and the flame travelled towards the waste. Todd shouted to Reid and McGarty to clear out and Todd and Reid had just started to run when a second report was heard and they were blown down the split for about 15 feet and slightly stunned.

When they had recovered sufficiently they called for McGarty but heard only groaning they found him lying unconscious in the middle of the No.14 Level roadway about 40 feet back from his working place. In rushing out of the place he had either been knocked off balance or blown over by the force of the explosion and in falling had fractured his skull. Todd immediately went outbye for assistance which was soon at the place as the men in the adjacent places were on their way out. A few minutes later a stretcher party arrived and carried McGarty out. He never recovered conciseness and died on the way out.

The men in the adjoining places said that there had been two explosions, the second louder than the first. The results of violence were observed in the dip of the No.14 Level where the shack had extinguished lights, knocked lamps from hooks, and men over and raised a dense cloud of dust.

The story now turns to the events in the section to the east and on the return side of the stooped area where the stoops were being split. The evidence given to the inquiry came from a 17 years old bencher, Alexander Todd who was employed in the No.3 dook. His duties were to detach empties from the dook haulage at various benches and despatch the full hutches in trains or rakes of three. Shortly after 8 p.m. he was sitting at the bench at the junction of No.13 Level with No.3 Dook, talking to two drawers, Sam Pake and David Muir who had come out with full hutches ready to take back their empties to the face when he felt two wafts of air which extinguished the acetylene lamps. He felt frightened and after relighting their lamps, Pake and Muir teased him a little and went towards the face each taking an empty hutch. Todd stated that when they left him he thought they were going to tell the boys and it was clear that they did not think that anything serious had happened. The hutches that they took where filled with shale and would have taken about 25 minutes to arrive.