In Wales, a massive explosion and fire underground kills 178 Rhondda Valley coal miners

In the earlier afternoon at the Ferndale Colliery in the Rhondda Valley near Pont-y-Pridd, Wales, a massive explosion was felt from underground. A fire then spread almost instantly to a majority of the mine's galleries where 328 men and boys were working.  Desperate efforts at rescue over the next forty-eight hours discovered few survivors from the damaged areas and these all severely injured.  The galleries at the far southern end of the mine were untouched but in the rest of the pit 178 men and boys had lost their lives, including Ferndale's manager, inspecting below at the time.  (By John Osborne)