Hōjō Coal Mine Disaster
Mine details
Mitsubishi formally opened the Hōjō mine in 1908. It was the seventh mine in an elaborate network of mines known as the Mitsubishi Chikuho coalfield. The mine was a shaft mine that pioneered deep shaft mining in Japan and was one of the deeper mines of its day, at parts was 295 feet (90 m) deep.
Explosion
On December 15, 1914 coal dust and methane gas mixed together in the air until some sort of spark set off a giant explosion. The blast sent the mine shaft cage, used to take miners in and out of the mine, flying out of the mine shaft.
After the explosion, the owners of mine cut up hundreds of oranges and tossed them down the shaft thinking that the citrus would negate the poison gas fumes. As the rescuers went down into the mine they "Each held a summer orange in their mouth and went down breathing only through their noses" under the same belief. After a short while to prevent the fire from spreading underground and destroying valuable coal the mine's entrances were sealed to put out the fire but as a result, also killing anyone who survived the initial explosion underground. As with most Japanese mines the wives worked with their husbands and an estimated 20% of those killed were women.
Deaths by mine sector
Deaths by mine sector location.
| Sector | Deaths |
|---|---|
| Left Nogi Ascent | 112 |
| Right Mata Descent area | 250 |
| New Oyama Fourth Descent area | 60 |
| Second New Kuroki Descent | 88 |
| Second New Mata, Right Slope | 70 |
| Ditto, Left No.3 Descent | 50 |
| Third New Mata Descent | 50 |
Bibliography
Notes
- ^ Different sources give different death tolls: 680 686 Orii adumbrates report that Mitsubishi may have tried to cover up the actual death toll which in reality could have been as high as 1000 miners killed
- ^ Burton 2014, p. 72.
- ^ Cleveland & Morris 2013, p. 74.
- ^ Burton 2014, p. 73.
- ^ Walker 2011, p. 188.
References
- Burton, W. Donald (2014). Coal-Mining Women in Japan: Heavy Burdens. Routledge. ISBN 9781317800422. - Total pages: 256
- Cleveland, Cutler J.; Morris, Christopher G. (2013). Handbook of Energy: Chronologies, Top Ten Lists, and Word Clouds. Elsevier. ISBN 9780124170193. - Total pages: 968
- Walker, Brett L. (2011). Toxic Archipelago: A History of Industrial Disease in Japan. University of Washington Press. ISBN 9780295803012. - Total pages: 352