[1] Seventy-five workers were killed by the disaster,[1] making it the third-worst coal mining accident in Australia in terms of human lives lost.

The mine, which had operated for six years at the time of the accident,[2] was widely considered safe and had no previous indications of gas leaks.

[4] A Royal Commission into the accident confirmed that the disaster was caused by the accidental or negligent firing of an explosive charge on top of a block of coal, apparently in order to split it.

[2] It was also determined that the lack of appropriate means to render the coal dust safe in the mine was a violation of law.

The mine's final demise occurred with the completion of the Tully Falls hydro electricity scheme.