About 7:00 p.m. the supply crew from section H at a door on 23 north entry felt a rush of air as it was on its way to the surface to change the flame safety lamp for the section foreman.  His lamp had been extinguished when room 38 was cut through into the abandoned 25 north entry, and he was unable to relight it.  The men attributed the rush of air to a heavy “slate” fall and continued on their way.  A motor crew in neighboring section E noted the rush of air, and also thought a “slate” fall had occurred until a door was opened on 23 north while loaded and empty trips were being moved.  Dense smoke was encountered when they opened the door.  They left it open, uncoupled the locomotive, and headed for the surface.

The open door short-circuited the air going from section H to section E and saved the men in section E from the fumes and smoke.  The haulage crew met the returning supply crew near the portal and notified the superintendent and the foreman.  The 11 men in section E noticed smoke back of 2 doors and came out through return air to the entrance to 22 north, where the air was good, and proceeded to the outside.  The superintendent, foreman, and a man from section E were able to reach section H by wearing gas masks.  After passing through return air they found the air in the section clear.

Two injured men were found and were treated and removed, other help having arrived.  All bodies were removed by 1:40 a.m. November 7.  Nine of the 11 men in section H were killed by violence, burns, and afterdamp, and the 2 injured men died several hours later in the hospital.

Methane from 25 north entry, abandoned since 1935, was ignited by nipping in moving the gathering locomotive.  Coal dust was burped but did not propagate the explosion.  Some rock dust had been applied by hand, but wetness and lack of force limited the spread.  Most of these details are shown in figure 137.

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Explosion Toll of Nellis Mine Increases to 10
Charleston Gazette, West Virginia
November 8, 1943

Nellis, Nov. 7. -- (AP) -- An explosion which rocked the No. 3 Nellis mine claimed its 10th victim tonight, 17 hours after rescue workers had removed the bodies of nine men killed in the second disaster in West Virginia this year.

The explosion which killed nine men outright and critically injured two others, added another casualty when Lawrence Vincent, 23, died in a Charleston hospital where he had been rushed shortly after his rescue last night from the blast-rocked mine.

By 2 a.m. seven hours after the explosion, which occurred two days after work was resumed following the general shutdown because of wage negotiation differences, rescue workers had removed the victims from the captive mine operated by the American Rolling Mill Company.

Company officials made preparations today to repair the damage, confined to one section, and to restore the mine to immediate operation.

They said the explosion apparently had been caused by a spark from a coal-cutting machine which ignited a pocket of gas in the section where the 11 men were working.  Seventeen others were in the mine at the time, but were digging in other sections and were not affected by the explosion.

State Miner Chief Jesse Redyard, who had been called to Tennessee because of a family illness, was expected here later today to conduct an investigation of the blast, the second in West Virginia mines this year.  Thirteen men lost their lives in a fire in Pursglove No. 15 mine near Morgantown last January.

General Manager C. W. Connor reported that the accident would not prevent continued operation of the mine, but explained that the damaged area will not be worked until repairs are completed.

He asserted that there "was no great damage done to the mine."

The dead:

• William H. Gunnoe, 48, foreman, wife and four children
• Kester Gunnoe, 37, machine man, wife and three children
• William O. Workman, 43, motorman, wife and three children, including two sons in the armed services
• Oual O. Miller, 28, slate man, wife and three children
• John Williams, 60, trackman, wife and seven children, including two sons in the service
• Julius Domokes, 34, section foreman, wife and two children
• O'Dell Linville, 37, loading machine operator, wife and seven children
• Steve Turkovich, 48, slate man, wife and two children
• John Setliff, 49, slate man, wife and three children
• Lawrence Vincent, 23, slate man, wife

Condition critical:

William C. Barker, 59, shot firer, one of the two injured miners rushed to McMillan Hospital at Charleston, was in a critical condition, suffering from shock and severe body burns.

The normal employment of Nellis No. 3 is 260, but Superintendent A. E. Oakley said the blast occurred when only 28 were at work.

Shortly after the explosion, which was so severe it ripped clothing from the miners' bodies, a crowd of about 350 persons, including families and friends of those at work, gathered at the mine mouth and maintained a vigil until early this morning when the last bodies were removed.

Today, this little Boone County mining town was quiet as mourning widows and children prepared for burial services.  Most of the miners will be buried at Madison, although Connor said the body of Turkovich would be taken to Niles, Ohio, for interment.