The “Miracle of Lengede”

Victims are rescued weeks after a serious mining accident

On 24 October 1963, a pit shaft flooded in the Lengede ore mine near Salzgitter in Lower Saxony. Of the 129 workers down below, two were able to escape via the main shaft and 44 via the supply tunnel, whilst 33 climbed up a borehole on a rope ladder and made it to the surface. The next day an unauthorized search party of miners managed to bring seven more of the men up from a depth of 40 metres. Three more miners were rescued a week later. Rescue workers began drilling in search of signs of life and rescued another three trapped miners. Hundreds of journalists from all over the world were present to report the events.

A group of 21 miners were trapped underground and fled from one cave to the next before taking refuge from rising water in a small cavity 60 metres below ground. Rocks and debris kept falling from the ceiling and ten of those trapped were killed. Several others were seriously injured, and all were suffering from hunger and thirst. After more than a week with no sign of the missing men, the mine director declared all those who had not yet been rescued as dead, and scheduled the memorial service for 4 November. However, some of the miners above ground refused to give up hope and insisted on carrying out one final drilling attempt in an area where they knew a cavity to be located. The day before their planned memorial service, those trapped underground heard drilling noises and tapped on metal objects with a pocket knife. These noises were heard by people on the surface, who called back the rescue teams. Contact was made via a narrow pipe and tea was sent down. It took another four days before the rescue team could sink a shaft. On 7 November 1963, after two weeks underground, the eleven surviving men were brought to the surface in a rescue capsule. The “Miracle of Lengede” saw the rescue of 100 miners. The accident claimed 29 lives.