On Thursday afternoon of last week, Mr. James Rowlands opened the
inquest touching the death of six of the ten men who were killed by
the fall of the cage in the shaft at the Garnant Colliery, Cwmamman,
on Wednesday morning. Mr. T. Wales, the Governement inspector, and
Mr. John Hay, the manager of the colliery were present. The coroner,
jury, and officials, first proceeded to the colliery, about half a
mile off, and were shown the ends of the wire rope where the fracture
took place. The end taken off the cage was seen first, and it was
ascertained that the rope consisted of six strands of steel wire wound
round a hemp cord, and each strand was made up of seven steel wires,
which appear to have a diameter measurement of about an eighth of
an inch. There were, therefore, forty-two wires and a hempen cord
making up the rope. The fracture showed that it had been torn in shreds,
very unevenly, and did not in the smallest leave room for suggestion
that there could have been a straight line flaw, so to speak, through
the strands. Having examined the rope, the coroner and Mr. Wales went
to look at the winding engine, and expressed themselves thoroughly
well satisfied with everything they saw. The whole apparatus worked
with great ease, and the man in charge had perfect command of it.
Some of the bodies were then viewed, and the party returned to the
room where the inquest was to be held. Evidence of identification
having been taken, the inquest was adjourned.
At noon, on Friday, Mr. E. Strick, the coroner for the Swansea division
of the county of Glamorgan, opened an inquest at Brynamman, touching
the deaths of two other men at the Garnant Colliery. The bodies having
been viewed and identified by witnesses, the coroner intimated that
he did not intend to carry the enquiry any further that day.
Mr. Protheroe Lewis, coroner, Llandilo, sat with a jury in the parish
of Quarter Bach, just across the river, in the neighbouring county
of Carmarthen, and opened the enquiry respecting the deaths of the
other two deceased. Evidence of identification of the remains was
at once called, and the coroner explained to the jury that he intended
to adjourn the inquest till the 5th February.
At an occasional court of summary jurisdiction held at the office
of Mr. Lewis Bishop, the magistrate's clerk, a collier, Thomas Michel,
of Cwmamman, was charged with causing the accident above referred
to. The prisoner was apprehended at his residence on Sunday morning,
and was charged (before Major Thursby-Pelham) on Monday, with killing
one, John Evan Jones, and others on Wednesday, January 16. The theory
advanced as to the cause of the sad calamity was that an unauthorised
collier had for the moment taken charge of the "keeps,"
and had turned the points by means of the switch before the whole
of the cage containing the ten men had passed below, thus giving it
a violent jerk. The prisoner was undefended. The constable believed
that he would be able to bring substantial evidence against the prisoner
if the case was remanded until the 2nd of February. The case was,
therefore, adjourned, and prisoner admitted to bail.
Mr R.C. Fisher, an eminent mining engineer, on Saturday visited the
Cwmamman Colliery, in company with Mr. G. J. May, the manager for
Messrs. George Elliot and Co., and examined very minutely the scene
of the recent fatal accidennt. He seemed to be in perfect health,
and returned to Garnant Station with Mr. May. While waiting on the
station, and without a moment's warning, he fell dead. The cause of
death is supposed to have been heart disease.