Benxihu Colliery

Coordinates: 41°19′40″N 123°46′25″E / 41.32778°N 123.77361°E / 41.32778; 123.77361
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Benxihu (Honkeiko)

typhoid and cholera flourished due to poor sanitation and water supplies.[3]
Typically miners worked 12-hour shifts or longer. The Japanese controllers were known to beat workers with pick handles, and the perimeter of the mine was fenced and guarded. Many describe the conditions as slave labour.

Coal dust explosion

On April 26, 1942, a gas and coal-dust explosion in the mine sent flames bursting from the mine shaft entrance. Miners' relatives rushed to the site but were denied entry by a cordon of Japanese guards, who erected electric fences to keep them out.[1] In an attempt to curtail the fire underground, the Japanese shut off the ventilation and sealed the pit head. Witnesses say that the Japanese did not evacuate the pit fully before sealing it, trapping many Chinese workers underground to suffocate in the smoke.[3] The Soviet Union later investigated and blamed the actions of the Japanese for needlessly increasing the death toll.[4][5]

It took workers ten days to remove all the corpses and rubble from the shaft. The dead were buried in a mass grave nearby. Many victims could not be properly identified due to the extent of the burns. The Japanese at first reported the death toll to be 34.

miners working that day. It was the worst disaster in the history of coal mining and the second-worst recorded industrial accident. Of this number, 31 fatalities were Japanese, the remaining 1,518 were Chinese.[3]

The Japanese continued to operate the mine until the end of World War II in 1945, when they were defeated and forced to withdraw from China. Following the Japanese withdrawal, the Chinese workers took control of the site. With the liberation after the war, the Soviet Union investigated the accident. They found that only some of the workers died directly from the gas and coal-dust explosion. Most deaths were from carbon monoxide poisoning produced when the Japanese closed the ventilation and sealed the pit head after the initial explosion.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Honkeiko colliery mining disaster - explosion, Benxi, Liaoning, China [1942]". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  2. ^ a b Shang (尚), Baode (宝德). "About 1942, the Lake mine gas explosion oral information (关于1942年本溪湖煤矿瓦斯大爆炸口述资料)" (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 16 April 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d "Chinazhaoge Blog". Sohu.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  4. ^ "The truth of the big explosion in Benxi Lake Coal Mine 64 years ago". Chinazhaoge.blog.sohu.com. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  5. ^ "The world's worst coal mining disasters". Mining-technology.com. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  6. ^ Yang (杨), Wenjie (雯洁). "Hidden behind the world's largest coal mine accident lies (Figure) - 世界最大煤矿事故背后藏谎言(图)" (in Chinese). Sina News. Retrieved 7 August 2010.

41°19′40″N 123°46′25″E / 41.32778°N 123.77361°E / 41.32778; 123.77361

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