The City of Nanaimo will remember the lives of 150 miners who were lost 135 years ago in the provinceB次元官网网址檚 worst mining disaster.

A release by the city, issued on Monday, May 2, noted that to mark the anniversary and to honour the memory of the lives lost, flags located at city facilities will once again be lowered to half-mast on Tuesday, May 3, as per the resolution passed by Nanaimo city council in 2015.

B次元官网网址淲e will all take a moment on May 3 to remember the many lives lost in this tragic event,B次元官网网址� said Mayor Leonard Krog in the release.

In the No. 1 Esplanade Mine explosion on May 3, 1887, 46 women lost their husbands and 126 children lost their fathers, devastating the small community of approximately only 2,000 people, the release noted.

B次元官网网址淪tarting at 5:55 pm B次元官网网址� two explosions occurred 260 metres below sea level in what was known as the cityB次元官网网址檚 largest mine, No. 1 Esplanade Mine. The blast was so forceful it rocketed through the underground shafts for almost a kilometre. The underground fire burned for two weeks.

B次元官网网址淏ecause of such damage, the last of the bodies could not be recovered until July. Unfortunately, seven men never were recovered and remain somewhere beneath the Nanaimo Harbour to this day,B次元官网网址� read the cityB次元官网网址檚 release. B次元官网网址淎 jury blamed the explosion on the firing of an unprepared and badly planted charge that ignited accumulated gas fuelled by coal dust.B次元官网网址�

Residents and visitors are invited to go to the walk-through coal mine exhibit in the Nanaimo Museum to learn more about NanaimoB次元官网网址檚 coal mining history and this tragic accident. More information on the exhibit can also be found at .

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mandy.moraes@nanaimobulletin.com
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