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West Frankfort Coal Mining Disaster
One of the nation's worst coal mine disasters occurred on Dec. 21, 1951, near the rural coal-mining town of West Frankfort, Illinois The Orient No. 2 mine explosion killed 119 men. The night crew had just entered the mine for their last shift before the Christmas holiday. A loud explosion, described by one survivor as a roar of a train, erupted and the power went out.
Several thousand of the townspeople were attending a high school basketball game which was interrupted by an announcement that there had been an explosion and Doctors were needed immediately. A temporary morgue was set up at the West Frankfort Junior High School where the blackened and charred bodies were brought for identification. Almost everyone in the town was affected and it was considered the worst tragedy the town ever had.
Illinois GovernorAdlai Stevenson visited the site and called it a sad day for Southern Illinois.List of accidents and disasters by death toll
The Illinois Director of Mines said the explosion was caused by methane gas. The United States Bureau of Mines called the disaster avoidable. A total of 31 violations of the safety code were found.
This disaster attracted national attention and resulted in the passage of the Federal Coal Mine Safety Act signed by President Harry S. Truman on July 16, 1952. List of United States Federal Legislation
Further Reading
Death Underground: The Centralia and West Frankfort Mine Disasters. Robert E Hartley, David Kenney. Southern Illinois University Press; 1st edition (July 24, 2006) ISBN 0809327066