Wales mourns four Gleision miners

Prayers are said in churches across Wales, while flowers and tributes are left outside the colliery where the men died Prayers have been said in churches across Wales for the families of the four men who were killed in the Gleision mining tragedy . At St John the Evangelist church in Cilybebyll, the closest village to the colliery where the four men died, about 100 people attended a service. The Rev Martyn Perry told parishioners: “Our thoughts are with families around the area in communities surrounding ours who are in the process of preparing funerals for their loved ones.” Perry said it was easy to trust in God when “things are going well”. In his sermon he continued: “There are other times, like this for example, when we can’t see the purpose, we can’t see a pattern and things are difficult and distressing. We wonder about our ability to trust God.” But Perry said better times were ahead, quoting the last verse of the hymn Be Still My Soul, which promises that “love’s pure joy” will be “restored”. The congregation sang hymns including Abide with Me and The Lord’s My Shepherd. Outside the Norman and Victorian church Perry said he believed that the community would rally around the families of the men who had been lost and the church offered comfort in troubled times like these. Down the lane from St John’s the police cordon that blocked off the route to the mine has been replaced by a line of floral tributes to the men who died: Phillip Hill, Charles Breslin, David Powell and Garry Jenkins. One of the most poignant was a message from Hill’s daughter Kyla. She left a bouquet of flowers with a card on which she had written: “Hi dad, I love and miss you forever. Love you all the money in the world and America.” Hill’s widow, Donna, left a note: “Thank you for being part of our lives. “Our girls will be safe with me. Miss you always.” One to Jenkins said: “Sleep tight – we will always love you.” An anonymous wellwisher left flowers with the note: “The day’s work is done, your tools are on the bar, no more sweat and no more pain.” An appeal fund to help the families of the men who died raised £20,000 on its first day, Saturday, and its website attracted 30,000 hits. The Neath MP Peter Hain said that the Prince of Wales had agreed to be patron of the fund. The tragedy unfolded after the alarm was raised early on Thursday when the shaft flooded, trapping the men. Three of the seven who were working in the small drift mine – including Powell’s son, Daniel – managed to get out but four were trapped 90 metres underground. Hopes that the men might have found an air pocket and survived were dashed as the four bodies were found one by one. All died close together in an area near where they had been blasting. Fire and rescue and ambulance workers said they had never seen or worked in such conditions before. Jenkins, 39, was the first to be discovered by emergency workers who had battled around the clock to try to save the men, followed by Powell, 50, known to friends as “Dai Bull”, Hill, 45, and Breslin, 62. Hill was from Neath and the other three were from the Swansea valley. The Wales Office and the Health and Safety Executive have launched an investigation into the incident, with specialist mine inspectors already on site. “A full report into the causes of the accident will be published in due course to ensure that any lessons can be applied. At this stage it is too early to state possible causes,” they said. One of the key questions for investigators is what the men knew about the area they were working in. It is not clear yet if they knew that gallons of water were lying behind the area they were in. While more modern mines are carefully mapped, the records about historic workings like those around Gleision are not always kept. Wales Mining Steven Morris guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 18, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.