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Entombed Men.

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Entombed Men. I. Cut Off from Bottom of Pit. A HUGE SQUEEZE. Imprisoned for 14 Hours at Aberdare. Exceptional features mark a fall which occurred early on Monday morn- ing at the Abercwmboi Colliery, Aber- dare, and which, for about sixteen. hours, retained, as if in prison, six* men named Benjamin Williams, labour er, Mountain Ash; G. Howe, labourer. Mountain Ash; John Lewellyn, labour- er, Mountain Ash; Llewellyn Jones, timberman, Abercwmboi and James Harries, fireman, Mountain Ash. When they were eventually released from their perilous position, they were found to be free from anything even in the shape of a scratch. The circumstances of the mishap are these: It appears that Llewelyn Jones and George Howe were engaged in put- ting up some timber as the result of a fall within about eighteen yards from the face of a main heading. The other men were further ahead. All of a sudden there was a huge "squeeze" of the roof; and the next moment, a second fall happened. Jones and Howe ran towards their companions with their lives in their nands..Thus they found themselves with the .face -of the heading within six yards in front of them while the fallen debris shut off their course towards the bottom of the the shaft. In this wise they could neither advance nor recede; and their only hope of escape lay in the removal of the rubbish or in the creation of a passage through the side of the road so arranged as to enable them to work their way back to the rear of the fall. Owing to the immense quantity of stone which had been dislodged, and, e;ed, an d in particular, to the great danger to the entombed men which would result from a further disturbance of a threat- ening roof, the officials of the colliery who were quickly informed of the acci- dent, decided upon the execution of the latter alternative indicated above. STRENUOUS WORK. In the?e circumstances Mr Bridge, ¡ agent for the PoweIl Dnffryn Company and Mr Trevor Jones, the manager of the pit gave instructions to drive a way off the "gob'' in a straight line for a distance of some yards. Then the course was taken in a forward direction, thus trying to make head- way beyond the inside of the fall and the spot where the imprisoned men were enveloped. Excellent progress, fortunately, attended the efforts of the rescuers, who, after several hours of strenuous activity, had the satisfac- tion of hearing the voices of those I whose safety depended upon the suc- < coss of their exertions. Presently the "pick" was hard at work on either side, and, as luck would have it, the workmen within the fall had divined the nature of the project which wa9 advanced for their recovery. The result was that both parties were working for a common end, which was reached, as already stated, after an interval of nearly sixteen hours, to the utter joy. needless to say. of the en- tombed and the rescuers alike. None of the six men bore a scratch. That they were more or less in an ex- hausted state may well be imagined after the startling experience through which they Had gone. Confined with- in such a small area—about 18ft. by gft.—the greatest precaution had to be exercised to preserve the air from becoming fouled. By way of conter- acting this eventuality, they ex- tinguished four of the six lamps. INTERVIEW WITH MANAGER. I In an interview with Mr Trevor Jones on his return to the surface after the recovery of t'he men, that gentleman said that the entombed workmen had not lost hope of being rescued. Their spirits were enlivened by the consoling fact that the sound of the pick was continually comin g nearer to them. It was the sound of salvation. Mr Llewelyn Jones and his mate had to sacrifice their clothes in their atempts to reach a corner -of safety when the second fall happened. Too high a tribute could not be paid to tho work of the rescue parties. HOW MEN WERE RESCUED. The entombed men were sareiy brought to the surface about three o'clock. With thd exception of Mr John Jones, who was rather exhausted, the other five were none the worse for their experience. Mr James Harris, interviewed after r ming to the surface, said that he tWVe,- hcaH better music in his life Wan w lion lit, firrfv hoard J. r-escuo party going. In an interview Mr Trevor Jones, M.E, the manager, said that in a few minutes he was on the scene, after summoning Mr G. B. Budge (the j, agent). "In a short time," said Mr I Jones, "we were able to hear signals from the entombed men. And from the sound of their signals we were ablo J to locate the position they were in. We ? at once decided to abandon the idea of clearing the fall and to drive a road- way through the gob, and after driving a distanoe of about nineteen yards the men were safely reached. ^('ontinved at bottom of "oxt oo^ ^-nl

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—- j SECRET ARMOTJRJ. ¡

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Entombed Men.