Gleision mine disaster inquest to take nearly four months

An inquest into the deaths of four men killed in a south Wales mining disaster 14 years ago is expected to take more than three months.

Garry Jenkins, 39, Philip Hill, 44, David Powell, 50, and Charles Breslin, 62, died when thousands of gallons of water flooded the Gleision drift mine, near Pontardawe in the Swansea valley, on September 15 2011.

Seven men were working in the tunnels that day and only three survived.

On Friday, a pre-inquest review at Swansea Guildhall heard the final hearing into the matter is expected to take place between February and June next year.

The mining disaster happened after a routine blasting, and the families and friends of those trapped waited for hours inside Rhos Community Centre nearby as divers searched in vain for survivors in the murky, dark water.

The mine’s site manager, Malcolm Fyfield, and the company that ran the mine, MNS Mining Ltd, were acquitted of gross negligence manslaughter by a jury at Swansea Crown Court in 2014.

Following the trial, the victims’ families successfully campaigned for a full inquest into the deaths and this was opened in December 2022.

A further pre-inquest review will be held in November before the final hearing.