On this day, an explosion in the Blantyre coal mine in Lanarkshire, killed 207 miners (possibly more) and left 92 widows and 250 fatherless children in Scotland’s worst ever mining accident. The youngest victim was an eleven-year-old boy. The cause of the explosion was almost certainly firedamp – any kind of flammable gas, typically methane, often found in coal mines – which was probably ignited by a naked flame. The blast came at about 9:00 a.m. but debris and toxic gases delayed any possible rescue attempt until evening. Over the following days, normal ventilation was gradually restored and on Sunday 28 October, the first bodies were brought to the surface. However, another four days passed before the mine was completely free of gas and a full recovery could be completed. Blantyre was also the scene of two further disasters in 1878 and 1879.
