Community gather to remember the victims of Auchengeich disaster

A SERVICE will be held later this month in memory of those who lost their lives in one of Scotland’s worst mining disasters.

By The Newsroom

Published 10th Sep 2012, 17:01 BST

The Auchengeich mining disaster happened at approximately 7am on September 18, 1959, when a fire trapped 47 miners underground.

Smoke from the blaze – caused by an electrical fault 1,000ft below the surface – quickly overcame the miners who were travelling down in bogies to start work at the coal face.

The disaster widowed 41 women and left 76 children without a father.

This year, on the 53rd anniversary of the tragedy, the Auchengeich Colliery Memorial Committee is holding a memorial at the village’s Miners’ Welfare Club.

The service will take place on Sunday, September 16, at 1pm.

The service will be followed by tea and light refreshments.

Community Scotland