Accidents come in groups. The railway collision at Sitting- bourne,
and the steam-boat disaster on the Thames were supple- mented on Wednesday last by a colliery explosion, in which 280 men and boys have lost their lives. The scene of the catastrophe was the Prince of Wales's Colliery, Abercarne, in the South- Wales district, and the pit is one of many belonging to the Ebbw Vale Company. The miners who happened to be working nearest to the bottom of the shaft, 82 in number, were saved, but an exploration extending 400 yards from the shaft led to the dis- covery of fourteen dead horses in the stables, and thus confirmed the worst fears as to the fate of the majority of the men. The pit was discovered to be on fire, but hoping against hope the authori- ties did not venture at first to flood it, and thereby drown those who might be alive below. The decision to do so was, however, taken on Thursday, after a consultation with the Government officials, and of course all further hope is at an end. The scene at the pit-mouth is described as being, as on all similar occasions, most painful, though the worst being already known, there is none of that terrible tension of half-despair and half- hope which aggravates the misery of the watchers in a fight against time, such as took place in the case of the entombed miners at Tynewydd last year. It is said that more than a third of the number of the men lost were married. A miner's open candle is probably responsible for the disaster.
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