Photos: Anniversary of the Centralia coal mine disaster
On March 25, 1947, a coal-dust explosion inside the Centralia Coal Co. Mine No. 5 in Washington County, Illinois, claimed 111 lives. Only 31 men survived. The explosion was caused when a blown-out shot ignited coal dust. American folksinger Woody Guthrie wrote and recorded a song about the Centralia mine disaster entitled, "The Dying Miner."
Centralia Mine Disaster
- STR
- Updated
This is an aerial view of the Centralia Coal Co., mine #5 near Centralia, Ill., with rescue workers and ambulances grouped around the tipple as efforts were pressed to save more than 100 workers trapped by an explosion, March 25, 1947. (AP Photo)
Centralia Mine Disaster
- Ralph Waters
- Updated
Roy Capps, U.S. Bureau of Mines Safety instructor, views the overturned cars in the Centralia Coal Co. Mine #5 where 111 lives were lost in 1947. (AP Photo/Pool/Chicago Times/Ralph Waters)
Centralia Mine Disaster
- Harry L. Hall
- Updated
Police, soldiers and volunteer workers hold hands as they form a ring around the tipple of the Centralia Coal Co. #5 mine as blankets are handed to miners coming from rescue mission to reach trapped miners, March 26, 1947. (AP Photo/Harry L. Hall)
Centralia Mine Disaster
- STR
- Updated
Miners in mackinaws, center, carry a stretcher bearing the body of a blast victim from the Centralia Coal Co., mine #5, at Centralia, Ill., March 26, 1947, following a disastrous explosion. (AP Photo)
Centralia Mine Disaster
- Harry L. Hall
- Updated
The body of a victim of yesterday's blast at the Centralia Coal Co. No. 5 mine is placed in an ambulance after it was brought from the mine, March 26, 1947. (AP Photo/Harry L. Hall)
Centralia Mine Disaster
- Harry L. Hall
- Updated
The body of a miner is brought up from the Centralia Coal Co. No. 5 mine at Centralia, Ill., before it was placed in a waiting ambulance to be taken to a temporary morgue, March 26, 1947. (AP Photo/Harry L. Hall)
Centralia Mine Disaster
- Harry L. Hall
- Updated
The body of a miner is brought up from the Centralia Coal Co. No. 5 mine at Centralia, Ill., before it was placed in a waiting ambulance to be taken to a temporary morgue, March 26, 1947. (AP Photo/Harry L. Hall)
Centralia Mine Disaster
- Harry L. Hall
- Updated
Police form a cordon around the tipple at the Centralia Coal Co. No. 5 mine at Centralia, Ill., March 26, 1947, as the body of one of the miners trapped by an explosion is removed from the mine. An ambulance waits near the mine entrance to remove the body to a temporary morgue. (AP Photo/Harry L. Hall)
Centralia Mine Disaster
- SETH PERLMAN
- Updated
In 2005, Bill Niepoetter, 77, of Centralia, Ill., holds a St. Louis Post-Dispatch special section from April 30, 1947, detailing the aftermath of an explosion that killed 111 miners in this southern Illinois city on March 25, 1947. Niepoetter's father and three other relatives died in the blast. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
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Centralia Mine Disaster
- STR
This is an aerial view of the Centralia Coal Co., mine #5 near Centralia, Ill., with rescue workers and ambulances grouped around the tipple as efforts were pressed to save more than 100 workers trapped by an explosion, March 25, 1947. (AP Photo)
Centralia Mine Disaster
- Harry L. Hall
Police, soldiers and volunteer workers hold hands as they form a ring around the tipple of the Centralia Coal Co. #5 mine as blankets are handed to miners coming from rescue mission to reach trapped miners, March 26, 1947. (AP Photo/Harry L. Hall)
Centralia Mine Disaster
- Harry L. Hall
Police form a cordon around the tipple at the Centralia Coal Co. No. 5 mine at Centralia, Ill., March 26, 1947, as the body of one of the miners trapped by an explosion is removed from the mine. An ambulance waits near the mine entrance to remove the body to a temporary morgue. (AP Photo/Harry L. Hall)
Centralia Mine Disaster
- SETH PERLMAN
In 2005, Bill Niepoetter, 77, of Centralia, Ill., holds a St. Louis Post-Dispatch special section from April 30, 1947, detailing the aftermath of an explosion that killed 111 miners in this southern Illinois city on March 25, 1947. Niepoetter's father and three other relatives died in the blast. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
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