 The miners in other areas of the pit were wound to the surface.One man working at the seat of the explosion, John Woolley a "dataller", (day wage man) survived and, though burned, managed to get to the bottom of the shaft.When the alarm was raised, the pit manager W. Horrobin, underlooker James Calland and the mine owner's son, Harry Speakman led a rescue party to investigate but were impeded by the presence of afterdamp.