Lengede
Encyclopedia
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
" ("Miracle of Lengede").
Four men went to the elevated end of a gallery; even though it was below water level, the air pocket there prevented the water from entering. Expecting to find men there, a drilling was begun to the cavern some 79 meters below ground. In the meantime, journalists from all over the world had assembled. As it was of utmost importance to protect the air pocket, pressured air was pumped down. After six days, three men were finally rescued; a fourth had died in the meantime. The men were brought up with the Dahlbusch-Bombe
, a tiny metal pipe which allows one man to stand inside. They had to spend several hours in a pressure chamber before being released.
A group of twenty-one men had fled to an old part of the mine, known as the Old Man, which was not used anymore and had already partly collapsed. Falling rocks killed several men there, ventilation was poor, and after a while their lamps went dark. The management of the mine was already about to end the rescue operation and call for funeral services, when some miners pointed out that some men would have tried to escape to the Old Man and were maybe still there. No exact plans for that part of the mine were available, and an exploratory drill was started.
Fifty-six meters underground, a cavern was reached. Tapping signs were heard, and the rescuers let food, water and even a microphone down to the men below. Ludwig Erhard
, who had been elected Bundeskanzler just weeks earlier, came to Lengede and spoke to the trapped men, then the real drilling began. Because of concerns about the poor condition of Old Man, water was considered too heavy for use in the drilling below 40 meters and pressured air was used instead. At 6 a.m. on November 7, the men were reached. Two miners went down with the Dahlbusch-Bombe to help their colleagues come up. Eleven men were rescued.
All in all, twenty-nine men died in the disaster. When the mine was later cleared, it was found that some of them had lived for about 14 days underground. One man was never found.
Legal proceeding continued for some five years to determine whether anyone was responsible for the disaster, but in the end no one was prosecuted.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in the district of Peine
Peine (district)
Peine is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Hildesheim, Hanover and Gifhorn, and the cities of Brunswick and Salzgitter.-History:...
, in Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
, 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...
, some 40 kilometers southeast of Hannover. It became known to the world in 1963 because of a mining disaster
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 ....
and the subsequent rescue operation of eleven surviving miners, which became known 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 ....
" ("Miracle of Lengede").
Division of the municipality
Lengede consists of the following districts- Barbecke
- Broistedt
- Klein Lafferde
- Lengede
- Woltwiesche
The Miracle of Lengede
A lot of water was needed to wash the ore of the iron mine Mathilde in Lengede, and several artificial lakes existed right above the underground mine. At 8 p.m. on 24 October, 1963, water and mud from one of those lakes broke into the mine. At that time, 129 men were working underground. Seventy-nine men managed to escape right away. A group of seven men was reached with a drill; when the water level receded on the next day, they could be saved with a float.Four men went to the elevated end of a gallery; even though it was below water level, the air pocket there prevented the water from entering. Expecting to find men there, a drilling was begun to the cavern some 79 meters below ground. In the meantime, journalists from all over the world had assembled. As it was of utmost importance to protect the air pocket, pressured air was pumped down. After six days, three men were finally rescued; a fourth had died in the meantime. The men were brought up with the Dahlbusch-Bombe
Dahlbusch Bomb
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 , developed to transport trapped miners through boreholes after mining accidents...
, a tiny metal pipe which allows one man to stand inside. They had to spend several hours in a pressure chamber before being released.
A group of twenty-one men had fled to an old part of the mine, known as the Old Man, which was not used anymore and had already partly collapsed. Falling rocks killed several men there, ventilation was poor, and after a while their lamps went dark. The management of the mine was already about to end the rescue operation and call for funeral services, when some miners pointed out that some men would have tried to escape to the Old Man and were maybe still there. No exact plans for that part of the mine were available, and an exploratory drill was started.
Fifty-six meters underground, a cavern was reached. Tapping signs were heard, and the rescuers let food, water and even a microphone down to the men below. Ludwig Erhard
Ludwig Erhard
Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard was a German politician affiliated with the CDU and Chancellor of West Germany from 1963 until 1966. He is notable for his leading role in German postwar economic reform and economic recovery , particularly in his role as Minister of Economics under Chancellor Konrad Adenauer...
, who had been elected Bundeskanzler just weeks earlier, came to Lengede and spoke to the trapped men, then the real drilling began. Because of concerns about the poor condition of Old Man, water was considered too heavy for use in the drilling below 40 meters and pressured air was used instead. At 6 a.m. on November 7, the men were reached. Two miners went down with the Dahlbusch-Bombe to help their colleagues come up. Eleven men were rescued.
All in all, twenty-nine men died in the disaster. When the mine was later cleared, it was found that some of them had lived for about 14 days underground. One man was never found.
Legal proceeding continued for some five years to determine whether anyone was responsible for the disaster, but in the end no one was prosecuted.
See also
- Metropolitan region Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-WolfsburgMetropolitan region Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-WolfsburgThe Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg Metropolitan Region is an economic and cultural region in Northern Germany. The metropolitan area comprises approximately one third of the area of Lower Saxony, with almost half the inhabitants of the state...