Benxihu mine
The Benxihu Mine is a former hard coal mine in the Chinese city of Benxi in Liaoning Province . It has been producing since 1905. The operating company Benxi Coal and Steel Limited Company was a Sino-Japanese joint venture .
Working conditions deteriorated during the Japanese occupation since the Manchurian crisis in 1931. The workers were mistreated and fell ill with cholera .
On April 26, 1942, at 2:05 p.m., there was an explosion with a subsequent fire. Officially, 1,549 miners were killed; unofficially, 3,000 and more dead were reported. Some victims were torn to pieces by the explosion. Others had held cloths over their faces, but had died from the heat and gases. The victims were buried in a mass grave.
See also: List of mining accidents
Individual evidence
- ^ Need Coal but need not people. Analysis of Great Gas and Grime Explosion of the Japanese Benxihu Coal Mine Company during Japanese occupation.
Coordinates: 41 ° 19 ′ 40 ″ N , 123 ° 46 ′ 25 ″ E