On 24 July 1979, 14 miners were killed in an explosion in the underground mine in Appin, a small town situated 35 kilometres north-west of Wollongong. The explosion was caused by a rush of methane gas in the K panel which was a remote area of the mine situated three kilometres below the surface.
There were 45 individuals working in the mine at the time of the explosion. Ten miners were killed in the crib room while another four were killed in other areas of the mine.
J and J Barwick, Australia’s worst disasters, mining disasters, 1999 p. 30.
Judge AJ Goran QC, ‘Explosion at Appin Colliery on 24th July, 1979,’ Report following Inquiry by the Court of Coal Mines Regulation, website viewed 5 November 2014.
Kininmonth B 2010, ‘Appin Colliery explosion reassessed,’ Coal Operators’ Conference paper, 11-12 February 2010, website viewed 5 November 2014.
The Illawarra Mercury, ‘Appin mine blast: a day that shook our world’ 24 July 2009, website viewed 8 June 2011.
