Another fearful mining accident has occurred in Glamorgan- shire, not
far from Merthyr Tydvil, in the Ferndale Colliery. Yesterday week, at about half-past one, there was a terrible explosion, which shook the colliery, and a great volume of flame rushed up the shaft, bringing stones and earth with it, like the eruption of a volcano. The earth fell in along the galleries of the mine, separating the buried workmen,—believed to be about 170 in number,—from each other ; and their bodies were ultimately found in groups, with great piles of rubbish between them. The manager of the colliery was himself in the pit at the time, and was amongst the killed. But very few—not more than five or six—have been recovered alive from the "east districts" of the pit, where the explosion occurred. There were a great many in the "west districts" of the pit who were not at all, or very little injured, some 150; and these noble men, but just saved them- selves, immediately went down, at imminent peril, to the assist- ance of the unfortunates in the east districts, and worked most gallantly to save them, but mainly in vain. This awful accident appears to have been due to the use of open lamps instead of safety lamps in the pit. At least, this is the cause most generally assigned.
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