Dahlbusch Bomb
Encyclopedia
A Dahlbusch Bomb is an emergency evacuation
device for use in mining
. In its original form it is a torpedo-shaped cylinder with a length of 2.5 metres (8.2 ft), developed to transport trapped miners through boreholes after mining accident
s. It does not contain explosive: it was called a "bomb" because of its shape.
The Dahlbusch Bomb was developed in May 1955 at the Zeche Dahlbusch coal mine in Gelsenkirchen
in Germany
's Ruhr area
to rescue three miners. Thirty-four-year old engineer Eberhard Au sketched it on a leaflet. Au, who never applied for a patent, was quoted as saying "the main thing is, the lads get out".[1] Its distinguishing feature was the small diameter of only 38.5 centimetres (15.2 in), which allows miners to be evacuated through significantly smaller boreholes than using other evacuation devices, and whose shape also helps in raising and lowering the device across long distances. At Zeche Dahlbusch, the device was successfully used to rescue three miners, trapped at a depth of 855 metres (2,805 ft) after a mine collapse, through a vertical borehole drilled 42 metres (138 ft) from the next higher mine level.
The 15.2 inch diameter would need its passenger to have his shoulders hunched up or his arms vertical above his head, and not be obese or very muscular.
The deviced was used again on 1956 and 1957, but gained further prominence on 7 November 1963, when eleven miners were rescued after two weeks trapped at a depth of 58 metres (190 ft) in the iron ore mine in Lengede
, Germany, in what is known in Germany now as the Wunder von Lengede
("Lengede Miracle").
The "Phoenix" (Fénix) evacuation devices used in the rescue of 33 miners after the 2010 Copiapó mining accident
in Chile
are an enhanced version of the Dahlbusch Bomb.
Emergency evacuation
Emergency evacuation is the immediate and rapid movement of people away from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard. Examples range from the small scale evacuation of a building due to a bomb threat or fire to the large scale evacuation of a district because of a flood, bombardment or...
device for use in mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
. In its original form it is a torpedo-shaped cylinder with a length of 2.5 metres (8.2 ft), developed to transport trapped miners through boreholes after mining accident
Mining accident
A mining accident is an accident that occurs during the process of mining minerals.Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially in the processes of coal mining and hard rock mining...
s. It does not contain explosive: it was called a "bomb" because of its shape.
The Dahlbusch Bomb was developed in May 1955 at the Zeche Dahlbusch coal mine in Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2006 was c. 267,000....
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
's Ruhr area
Ruhr Area
The Ruhr, by German-speaking geographers and historians more accurately called Ruhr district or Ruhr region , is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.2 million , it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany...
to rescue three miners. Thirty-four-year old engineer Eberhard Au sketched it on a leaflet. Au, who never applied for a patent, was quoted as saying "the main thing is, the lads get out".
The 15.2 inch diameter would need its passenger to have his shoulders hunched up or his arms vertical above his head, and not be obese or very muscular.
The deviced was used again on 1956 and 1957, but gained further prominence on 7 November 1963, when eleven miners were rescued after two weeks trapped at a depth of 58 metres (190 ft) in the iron ore mine in Lengede
Lengede
Lengede is a municipality in the district of Peine, in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 40 kilometers southeast of Hannover. It became known to the world in 1963 because of a mining disaster and the subsequent rescue operation of eleven surviving miners, which became known as the "Wunder von Lengede"...
, Germany, in what is known in Germany now as the Wunder von Lengede
Wunder von Lengede
On 7 November 1963, 11 West German miners were rescued from a collapsed mine after surviving for 14 days, an event that later became known as the Wunder von Lengede ....
("Lengede Miracle").
The "Phoenix" (Fénix) evacuation devices used in the rescue of 33 miners after the 2010 Copiapó mining accident
2010 Copiapó mining accident
The 2010 Copiapó mining accident, also known as the "Chilean mining accident", began in the afternoon of Thursday, 5 August 2010 as a significant cave-in at the troubled 121-year-old San José copper–gold mine. The mine is located deep in the Atacama Desert, one of the driest and harshest...
in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
are an enhanced version of the Dahlbusch Bomb.
External links
- Dahlbuschbombe at the Deutsches Bergbau-Museum in Bochum (German)