User:Tete Carre

Headline text ==Coal Creek Mine Disaster 1902 ==

Thursday, May 22 just after 7:30 p.m. an explosion roared through the Coal Creek Mine, near Fernie British Columbia. The blast killed 128 miners and labourers working the shafts operated by the Crow's Nest Coal Company.

The roof of the shed housing the steam-powered ventilation fan was blown several hundred metres into the air. Eyewitnesses also reported seeing a column of fire along with coal and rock shoot from the ventilation shafts.

Rescue attempts immediately after the explosion were frustrated by the high level of carbon dioxide, known as afterdamp, that results from the combustion of methane and coal dust. Rescuers could only spend a short time searching the mine for survivors before they had to return to fresh air at the mouth of the shaft.