The Hillcrest mine disaster, the worst coal mining disaster in Canadian history, occurred at Hillcrest, Alberta, in the Crowsnest Pass region, on June 19, 1914, 9:30 am. [2]
The disaster was reported by several news outlets including the Calgary Herald as the world's third-worst mine disaster at the time, after the Fraterville Mine disaster and the Courrières mine disaster. [3]
The mine started operations at 7:00 a.m. on June 19, 1914. At approximately 9:30 a.m., an explosion ripped through the tunnels, up the slopes and burst from the entries of the mine. John Brown, the general manager of the mine, rushed to the fan room to reverse the suction of air, which would push depleted oxygen back into the mine in an attempt to save any survivors. Initial rescue efforts were hampered by the complete destruction of the one entrance to the mine. [4]
Of the 237 men who entered the mine that day, only 48 were rescued, many of them suffering from the effects of toxic gases. [2]
The accident had a profound effect on the town of Hillcrest Mines, which in 1914 had a population of about 1,000. A total of 189 workers died, about half of the mine's total workforce, which left 90 women widowed and about 250 children fatherless. Many of the victims were buried in a mass grave at the Hillcrest Cemetery. The Government of Alberta held an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the explosion in 1915.
Condolences came from across the country, including a brief message from King George V, but the commencement of World War I soon overshadowed this event.
I am grieved to hear through the press of the terrible disaster at Hillcrest coal mine by which it is feared hundreds have lost their lives. Please express my deepest sympathy with the sufferers and also with the families of those who have perished.
— King George V
Of the 189 victims of the disaster, many were immigrants, including 43 from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, of whom an estimated 30 were Ukrainian by ethnic origin, including 6 from one village, Karliv (now Prutivka), Galicia. [5]
Operations at Hillcrest mine continued until Hillcrest Collieries, the mine owners, went into liquidation in April 1938, and the mine was officially closed on December 2, 1939. [2]
A monument to the Hillcrest mine disaster and the lives lost was placed at the Hillcrest Cemetery.
In 1990, Canadian folk-singer James Keelaghan recorded "Hillcrest Mine", one of his best-known songs. The disaster is also featured in the song "Coal Miner" (album Heads Is East, Tails Is West, 2014) by Joal Kamps, an Alberta-based Rocky Mountain folk-pop singer.
On September 19, 1926, another explosion occurred in the Hillcrest mine when the mine was idle, killing two men.
Other explosions at other coal mines within the Crowsnest Pass region also caused deaths:
Fernie is a city in the Elk Valley area of the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia, Canada, located on BC Highway 3 on the western approaches to the Crowsnest Pass through the Rocky Mountains. Founded in 1898 and incorporated as the City of Fernie in July 1904, the municipality has a population of over 5,000 with an additional 2,000 outside city limits in communities under the jurisdiction of the Regional District of East Kootenay. A substantial seasonal population swells the city during the winter months.
Crowsnest Pass is a low mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Canadian Rockies on the Alberta–British Columbia border.
Springhill mining disaster may refer to any of three deadly Canadian mining disasters that occurred in 1891, 1956, and 1958 in different mines within the Springhill coalfield, near the town of Springhill in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia. In the 1891 accident, 125 died; in 1956, 39 were killed; and in 1958, 75 miners were killed.
A mining accident is an accident that occurs during the process of mining minerals or metals. Thousands of miners die from mining accidents each year, especially from underground coal mining, although accidents also occur in hard rock mining. Coal mining is considered much more hazardous than hard rock mining due to flat-lying rock strata, generally incompetent rock, the presence of methane gas, and coal dust. Most of the deaths these days occur in developing countries, and rural parts of developed countries where safety measures are not practiced as fully. A mining disaster is an incident where there are five or more fatalities.
The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass is a specialized municipality in southwest Alberta, Canada. Within the Rocky Mountains adjacent to the eponymous Crowsnest Pass, the municipality formed as a result of the 1979 amalgamation of five municipalities – the Village of Bellevue, the Town of Blairmore, the Town of Coleman, the Village of Frank, and Improvement District No. 5, which included the Hamlet of Hillcrest and numerous other unincorporated communities.
The Fraterville Mine disaster was a coal mine explosion that occurred on May 19, 1902 near the community of Fraterville in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Official records state that 216 miners died as a result of the explosion, from either its initial blast or from the after-effects, making it the worst mining disaster in the United States' history, and remains the worst disaster in the history of Tennessee. However, locals claim that the true number of deaths is greater than this because many miners were unregistered and multiple bodies were not identified. The cause of the explosion was likely ignition of methane gas which had built up after leaking from an adjacent unventilated mine.
The Frank Slide was a massive rockslide that buried part of the mining town of Frank in the District of Alberta of the North-West Territories, Canada, at 4:10 a.m. on April 29, 1903. Around 44 million cubic metres/110 million tonnes of limestone rock slid down Turtle Mountain. Witnesses reported that within 100 seconds the rock reached up the opposing hills, obliterating the eastern edge of Frank, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) line and the coal mine. It was one of the largest landslides in Canadian history and remains the deadliest, as between 70 and 90 of the town's residents died, most of whom remain buried in the rubble. Multiple factors led to the slide: Turtle Mountain's formation left it in a constant state of instability. Coal mining operations may have weakened the mountain's internal structure, as did a wet winter and cold snap on the night of the disaster.
The Senghenydd colliery disaster, also known as the Senghenydd explosion, occurred at the Universal Colliery in Senghenydd, near Caerphilly, Glamorgan, Wales, on 14 October 1913. The explosion, which killed 439 miners and a rescuer, is the worst mining accident in the United Kingdom. Universal Colliery, on the South Wales Coalfield, extracted steam coal, which was much in demand. Some of the region's coal seams contained high quantities of firedamp, a highly explosive gas consisting of methane and hydrogen.
The Oaks explosion, which happened at a coal mine in West Riding of Yorkshire on 12 December 1866, remains the worst mining disaster in England. A series of explosions caused by firedamp ripped through the underground workings at the Oaks Colliery at Hoyle Mill near Stairfoot in Barnsley killing 361 miners and rescuers. It was the worst mining disaster in the United Kingdom until the 1913 Senghenydd explosion in Wales.
Bellevue is an urban community perched 4,280 feet elevation in the Rocky Mountains within the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in southwest Alberta, Canada. It was formerly incorporated as a village prior to 1979 when it amalgamated with four other municipalities to form Crowsnest Pass.
Hillcrest, also known as Hillcrest Mines, is an urban community in the Rocky Mountains within the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in southwest Alberta, Canada. It was once a hamlet under the jurisdiction of Improvement District (ID) No. 5 prior to 1979 when the former ID No. 5 amalgamated with four other municipalities to form Crowsnest Pass.
The Gresford disaster occurred on 22 September 1934 at Gresford Colliery, near Wrexham, when an explosion and underground fire killed 261 men. Gresford is one of Britain's worst coal mining disasters: a controversial inquiry into the disaster did not conclusively identify a cause, though evidence suggested that failures in safety procedures and poor mine management were contributory factors. Further public controversy was caused by the decision to seal the colliery's damaged sections permanently, meaning that the bodies of only 8 of the miners were ever recovered. Two of the three rescue men who died were brought out leaving the third body in situ until recovery operations began the following year.
The Udston mining disaster occurred in Hamilton, Scotland on Saturday, 28 May 1887 when 73 miners died in a firedamp explosion at Udston Colliery. Caused, it is thought, by unauthorised shot firing the explosion is said to be Scotland's second worst coal mining disaster.
The Brunner Mine disaster happened at 9:30 am on Thursday 26 March 1896, when an explosion deep in the Brunner Mine, in the West Coast region of New Zealand, killed all 65 miners below ground. The Brunner Mine disaster is the deadliest mining disaster in New Zealand's history.
The Minnie Pit disaster was a coal mining accident that took place on 12 January 1918 in Halmer End, Staffordshire, in which 155 men and boys died. The disaster, which was caused by an explosion due to firedamp, is the worst ever recorded in the North Staffordshire Coalfield. An official investigation never established what caused the ignition of flammable gases in the pit.
Lille is a ghost town and former village in the Crowsnest Pass area of southwest Alberta, Canada. It was a company-built coal mining community that, between 1901 and 1912, hosted a population that grew to over 400. The mines at Lille closed in 1912, due primarily to weak coal prices, increasing production costs, and the increasingly poor quality of the coal. The community was then dismantled and most of its structures were moved elsewhere. Today the site is an Alberta Provincial Historic Resource and is known for the elegant ruins of a set of Bernard-style coke ovens that was imported from Belgium.
William August Kovach was a politician from Alberta, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1948 until his death in 1966 as a member of the Social Credit caucus in government.
The Coal Mines Act 1911 amended and consolidated legislation in the United Kingdom related to collieries. A series of mine disasters in the 19th and early-20th centuries had led to commissions of enquiry and legislation to improve mining safety. The 1911 Act, sponsored by Winston Churchill, was passed by the Liberal government of H. H. Asquith. It built on earlier regulations and provided for many improvement to safety and other aspects of the coal mining industry. An important aspect was that mine owners were required to ensure there were mines rescue stations near each colliery with equipped and trained staff. Although amended several times, it was the main legislation governing coal mining for many years.
Passburg is a ghost town in the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in southern Alberta, Canada that was formerly a coal mining community. It is on Highway 3 approximately 130 km (81 mi) west of Lethbridge and 4 km (2.5 mi) southeast of Bellevue.
On 10 December 1910, an explosion occurred underground in the West Canadian Collieries No. 1 Mine in the Crowsnest Pass community of Bellevue, Alberta. The explosion pushed all of the air out of the mine and filled it with afterdamp, a deadly gas that is a mixture of Carbon dioxide and Carbon monoxide, killing 30 of the 42 workers present at the time, as well as one rescue worker. The explosion was the first mining disaster in Alberta's history, and led to several changes in coal mining in the Crowsnest Pass. The event was soon overshadowed by the nearby Hillcrest mine disaster four years later, which killed 189 and is Canada's worst mining disaster to date.
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