A COMMUNITY is in mourning after it emerged all four miners who had been trapped underground after an accident at a coal mine in South Wales have died.
The bodies of Charles Breslin, 62, David Powell, 50, Garry Jenkins, 39, and Phillip Hill, 45, who all lived in and around the town of Pontardawe, were discovered one by one in the flooded pit at Gleision Colliery yesterday.
Rescue services had mounted a desperate operation to reach them after they became stranded underground on Thursday, but hopes the men had managed to scramble to safety when water began to fill the colliery faded after no contact was made overnight.
The first body was discovered at around 8am yesterday morning and eight hours later the true scale of the tragedy emerged when the final body was found in the mine.
Prime Minister David Cameron called the disaster a “desperately sad situation”, adding: “The anguish of the families is intense. There’s going to be desperate sorrow.”
The men were part of a seven-strong team who had been working in the mine, which extends a mile into a hillside near Swansea and is peppered with side tunnels.
The colliery has been operating since 1993, and is a small drift mine where access to the coal seam is gained by walking in.
Water burst into the main tunnel after a restraining wall was breached, taking the work party unawares. Three of the men, including the son of one of those who died, were able to make their way out through the torrent, although one swallowed pit slurry and is being treated in hospital.
Four of their workmates were unable to extricate themselves, although it was initially hoped they would be able to reach an air pocket and survive until they could be rescued.
However, despite a massive effort from a 50-strong team of rescuers who tried to pump the water out and reach them, it was later confirmed none of the miners survived.
Their families had gathered at Rhos Community Centre a couple of miles away while the rescue teams went to work, and messages of support had poured in from all over the world.
Former miner Ali Thomas choked back the tears as he paid tribute to his friends. He said: “I had worked with Charlie and Phillip before. There were two types of miners – some are good and some are useless. Charlie and Phillip were definitely in the good mould.
“All the men who died here were important members of the community. They were someone’s sons, fathers and grandfathers.
“It has been a truly sad day. I’m lost for words. All the families are completely devastated. It has left everyone in the community saddened.”
The tragedy is the worst mining disaster in Britain for a generation.
Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones said everyone had thought the days of mining accidents were a thing of the past. He said: “I want to express my sympathies for the families, sympathies on behalf of the people of Wales to the families of four of their own.”
Peter Vaughan, Chief Constable of South Wales Police, who had led the rescue effort said: “We’ve tried to bring this safely to its conclusion. Unfortunately, the conclusion we have is the one none of us wanted.”
Peter Hain, MP for Neath, said the men’s deaths were a “stab through the heart” of the local community. He added: “This is the end we all feared but hoped against hope wouldn’t happen. There’s a long tradition of mining here, but nobody expected the tragedies of past generations would come today.”
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