Mining accidents have caused numerous tragedies and fatalities throughout history. Here are the top ten mine disasters of the world:
- Benxihu Colliery Disaster – April 26, 1942, China: This coal dust explosion caused the death of 1,549 miners and is the deadliest coal mine disaster in history.
- Courrieres Coal Mine Disaster – March 10, 1906, France: This coal dust explosion caused the death of 1,099 miners and is the second-deadliest coal mine disaster in history.
- Oaks Colliery Explosion – December 12, 1866, England: This coal mine explosion caused the death of 361 miners.
- Chasnala mining disaster – December 27, 1975, India: A flood caused by the failure of a tailings dam killed 372 miners.
- Soma Mine Disaster – May 13, 2014, Turkey: An explosion and fire in the mine resulted in the death of 301 miners.
- Mount Mulligan Mine Disaster – September 19, 1921, Australia: An explosion caused the death of 75 miners.
- Benxihu Colliery Explosion – February 26, 1943, China: This coal dust explosion caused the death of 1,549 miners.
- Mitsui Miike Coal Mine Explosion – November 9, 1963, Japan: An explosion and subsequent gas poisoning caused the death of 458 miners.
- Monongah Mining Disaster – December 6, 1907, USA: This coal mine explosion caused the death of 362 miners.
- Westray Mine Disaster – May 9, 1992, Canada: An explosion caused the death of 26 miners.
The world has seen many mine disasters caused in the coal and hard rock mining processes. Every year, thousands of miners lose their lives in the mining accidents. Most of the deaths that occur in these accidents are reported from developing countries, especially China. Mining disasters occur due to leak of poisonous gases such as hydrogen sulfide, dust explosions, flooding, and most of the time due to malfunctioning of mining equipments. The world map with top ten mine disasters of the world shows the location of top ten mine disasters that rocked different parts of the world. As the map shows, the worst mine disaster occured in Benxi, China on April 26, 1942, when a coal-dust explosion in the mine killed 1,549, 34% of the miners; it is the worst mining disaster till date. Another major disaster took place in Courrieres, France on March 10, 1906. It is known as the Courrieres mine disaster and is considered the worst mining accident in European history. Over 1099 miners lost their lives in Northern France in the accident. The other major mine disasters and the number of casualties that occurred are also shown in the map.
| Mine Name | Location | Date | Casualty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honkeiko Mine | Benxi, China | April 26, 1942 | 1549 |
| Courrières Mine Disaster | Courrieres, France | March 10, 1906 | 1099 |
| Mitsubishi Hojyo | Kyūshū, Japan | December 15, 1914 | 687 |
| Laobaidong Mine | Datong, China | May 9, 1960 | 684 |
| Mitsui Miike | Omuta, Japan | November 9, 1963 | 447 |
| Senghenydd | Senghenydd, UK | October 14, 1913 | 438 |
| Coalbrook | Coalbrook, South Africa | January 21,1960 | 437 |
| Wankie | Wankie, Zimbabwe | June 6, 1972 | 427 |
| New Yubari | Yubari, Japan | November 28, 1914 | 422 |
| Zeche Monopol Schacht Grimberg | Bergkamen, Germany | February 20, 1946 | 405 |