But it was a long half hour before the first of the weary bearers came up the shaft with a body. Arnettsville, WV Gas Explosion In Yukon Mine, Mar 1930. M. H. Clendenin, chief engineer for the mine, climbed wearily from the pit and said: [2] The biggest threats to rescuers are the various fumes, particularly “blackdamp”, a mix of carbon dioxide and nitrogen that contains no oxygen, and “whitedamp”, which is carbon monoxide. 8 mines, and was one of the contributing events leading to the creation of the United States Bureau of Mines. The last four were found together in the very center of the explosion area. Why don't they bring him up." The continuous stream of disasters inspired mass protests across the state and by 1910 the U.S. Congress responded by establishing the Bureau of Mines, an agency to investigate and inspect mines across the nation. On Friday, December 6, 1907, there were officially 367 men in the two mines, although the actual number was much higher as officially registered workers often took their children and other relatives into the mine to help. An official cause of the explosion was not determined, but investigators at the time believed that an electrical spark or one of the miners' open flame lamps ignited coal dust or methane gas.

No one has ever been held legally to account for the No. At the turn of the 20th century, West Virginia became notorious for its dangerous coal mines. From almost noon on, the digging was aimed at the single room where the workers knew the other four must lie. Around 10 a.m. on December 6, 1907, a deadly explosion rocked the Monongah Coal Mine in West Virginia, hurling people from their carriages and streetcars off their rails as far as eight miles away. The mine has a shaft running 670 feet at a 36 degree angle and then the levels begin. West Virginia. Credit: Library of Congress Photo Collection, 1840-2000/Ancestry.com. West Virginia Disasters. It was not until hours after daylight that in entry No. It’s like they didn’t want to have to deal with it.” ‘Fraudulent concealment’ 8 mines, and was one of the contributing events leading to the creation of the United States Bureau of Mines.

The explosion occurred in Fairmont Coal Company’s No. The deaths in the Coal Mining disaster at Montcoal, West Virginia in 2010 bring to mind the disaster which took place at Monongah, West Virginia in 1907.
All the time Mrs. Tiller moaned over and over, "Why don't they bring him up. Credit: Library of Congress Photo Collection, 1840-2000/Ancestry.com, December 6, 1907, Monongah, West Virginia. The others previously recovered were: Monongah, 6 dicembre 1907; San Giovanni in Fiore, 6 dicembre 2003 ("Lest we forget the Calabrian miners dead in West Virginia (USA). 6 and No. GROVER SAUNDERS, 28, married and three children. None may enter until then when the state department will start an investigation of the cause. Throughout history, coal booms have been underlined by the deaths of hardworking miners stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time. 6 and No. Officials expressed a preliminary opinion that a spark from some source ignited gas in the mine, but reserved further comment until after the inquiry. [5] The official death toll stood at 362, 171 of them Italian migrants. Rescuers could only stay in the mine for 15 minutes at a time. GenDisasters is a genealogy site, compiling information on the historic disasters, events, and tragic accidents our ancestors endured, as well as, information about their life and death. Barracksville, WV Mine Explosion, Oct 1916. 14, two miles back, where the last four were found.

They had been killed by the shock of the blast. Contact me. Monongah, December 6, 1907, San Giovanni in Fiore, December 6, 2003")[7], In 2007, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the explosion, the Italian region of Molise presented a bell to the town of Monongah. Compilation, design, artwork and concept covered by copyright.

One Polish miner was rescued and four Italian miners escaped. Loss of limbs and life were common in West Virginia mines until 1910, when routine safety inspections improved working conditions. The first volunteer rescuers entered the two mines twenty-five minutes after the initial explosion. The group around the roped-off enclosure had dwindled to a scant 200 of the village's 600 population but murmurs of sympathy could be heard from almost all of them.

Browse by State  AL | AK |  AR | AZ | CA | CO | CT | DC | DE | FL | GA | HI | IA | ID | IL | IN | KS | KY | LA | MA | MD | ME | MI | MN | MO | MS | MT | NE | NC | ND | NH | NJ | NM | NV | NY | OH | OK | OR | PA | RI | SC | SD | TN | TX | UT | VA | VT | WA | WI | WV | WY. The last four bodies out were those of: Steady work in coal, oil, and natural gas mines brought African Americans from the South and Italian immigrants from Europe to the rural state. The inability to clear the mine of gases transformed the rescue effort into a recovery effort. [3] In a vain effort to protect themselves, some of the miners tried to cover their faces with jackets or other pieces of cloth. Home » West Virginia. Il sacrificio di quegli uomini forti tempri le nuove generazioni. Inflated prices at the company store left workers perpetually in debt and dangerous conditions in the mines left them in danger. Post Herald Beckley West Virginia 1936-09-04. With the appearance of the last body, J. F. White, state mine inspector, ordered the mine closed until Saturday. Screaming hysterical women, mingled with hundreds of curious, clustered about the pit mouth all during the rescue operations. The lack of breathing apparatus at the time made venturing into these areas impossible.

TOM TILLER, 25, married.

Around 10 a.m. on December 6, 1907, a deadly explosion rocked the Monongah Coal Mine in West Virginia, hurling people from their carriages and streetcars off their rails as far as eight miles away. Newspapers gave details about the Monongah mining disaster, reporting that two explosions just seconds apart entombed 500 miners. Despite the risks, by 1913 about 100,000 worked in the mines of West Virginia, including children as young as nine who toiled in the mines from sunup to sundown. White, who directed the safety team which recovered the last of the bodies, said: [6], In 2003, to commemorate the explosion, the Italian commune of San Giovanni in Fiore, from which many of the miners had emigrated, erected a memorial with the inscription Per non dimenticare minatori calabresi morti nel West Virginia (USA). followed by black smoke. Credit: Buyenlarge/Archive Photos/Getty Images, 1910, Monongah, West Virginia.