Visitors rescued from National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield after technical fault leaves them underground
Visitors at the National Coal Mining Museum, in Overton, were rescued by the fire service over the weekend after a technical issue left them underground and unable to use the lift.
Emergency services were called to the Wakefield attraction on Friday (June 20) afternoon after a technical fault left visitors underground.
The lift shaft, which is used to take visitors 140 metres down to the mine and back up to the surface, was paused due to issues with the site’s back-up generator.
Due to this, visitors who were underground were instead escorted out of the drift walk, an alternative exit route, with assistance from the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.
A spokesperson for the West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were called at 14:25 to Wakefield to reports of a mine rescue.
"Three crews descended to the bottom of the mine shaft to assess and retrieve four persons, and then brought them back to the surface using a hand-drawn trolley.”
A spokesperson for the National Coal Mining Museum said: “Due to a temporary technical issue with our back-up generator on Friday, June 20, use of our lift shaft was paused.
"This resulted in some visitors on our Underground Tour experience to exit the mine via the drift walk, which is a completely safe and planned means of exit.
"Our team of experts were on hand to address this quickly and everyone exited the underground tour with emergency services to assist as a precaution.”
The Underground Tours were paused over the weekend due to the fault but will resume when the museum reopens on Wednesday (June 25).