The colliery was known as Russell�s Colliery. At the time of the disaster, there were 56 men working in the Bensham Seam to which the �A� Pit had been sunk the previous year and the workings extended no more than 100 yards in any direction from the shaft. It was reported that 52 were killed. The �A� shaft was divided into an upcast and a downcast section by timber brattice which was destroyed in the explosion so there was no ventilation. The blast was  stated to have �shook the ground like an earthquake and made furniture dance in neighbouring houses.�