1948 — July 27, Princeton Mining Co., King Coal Mine Gas Explosion, Princeton, IN–     13

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard Sep 24, 2023 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–14  National Fire Protection Assoc. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003).

–13  Bureau of Mines. July 27, 1948; Kings Mine, Princeton, Ind.: 13 Killed.

–13  Nat. Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, CDC. Mining Disasters: 1839 to Present.

–13  Pharos Tribune, IN. “Announce Accumulated Gas Caused Fatal Mine Blast.” 7-28-1948, 1

–13  United States Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the United States. “Princeton…”

Narrative Information

Bureau of Mines. July 27, 1948; Kings Mine, Princeton, Ind.: 13 Killed:

“The mine had been idle from July 14 to July 27 to seal 1 and 2 west off the main north, 3 west, where water and methane were excessive. A squeeze developed in 1 and 2 east, and this section was also sealed inby the No. 8 crosscut. The mine examiner’s report for that morning showed the mine to be free from gas accumulations. An overall inspection on the preceding 2 days by a group of inspectors and officials had reported it safe. The company safety inspector had been in the 1 and 2 east section just before 1:00 p.m., but he had not tested for gas or inspected the seals.

“The mine foreman entered the section about 10 minutes before 1 o’clock, when the section foreman and men in 5 and 6 east section felt the explosion. When the section foreman encountered smoke and fumes near 3 and 4 east, he told his men to return to their section and prepare to put up barricades. He went on to 1 and 2 east and telephoned to the shaft bottom to call for help. Word was sent to the deputy mine inspector and to the rescue stations at Bicknell and Terre Haute and to the Federal Bureau of Mines at Vincennes.

“Mine officials entered and immediately started restoring ventilation by placing canvas stoppings where wooden doors and stoppings had been demolished. No gas masks or breathing apparatus was used. Two men suffering from burns and afterdamp were found and taken outside. All of the injured men and bodies were taken out by 4: 30 p. in. that day. Twelve men were killed outright, and 1 of 3 injured died on the way to the hospital. The other 160 men in the mine escaped without injury.

“Ventilation in the 1 and 2 east section had been short-circuited for some time before the explosion. A trip of cars blocked a door open; a door was being erected at another place, and a shuttle car was standing under a check curtain. Methane leaked from behind the seals and moved out over a drill truck on 2 east entry at No. 5 crosscut. An arc from the drill truck probably ignited the gas, and coal dust was stirred up and propagated the explosion (fig, 157). Rock dust applied in entries and rooms prevented a widespread explosion. Smoking was also a possible source of ignition, as several of the victims carried matches, lighters, and smoking materials.”

Newspaper

July 28:  “Princeton, Ind., July 28 – (UP) – An explosion at Kings mine here yesterday in which 13 miners were killed was caused by ‘accumulated gas’ in a sealed-off shaft, state mine bureau officials said today.   After federal, state and company investigators groped through the mine, largest shaft in Indiana, seeking the cause of the explosion, Secretary Griffith Morris of the state, board of mines announced that electrical machinery operated elsewhere in the pit might have, sparked the explosion.  The blast apparently took place in the mine’s ‘east run,’ a section that was sealed off last Saturday because the coal vein was exhausted. The mine, had reopened yesterday after being closed for repairs.

“Investigators said the explosion ripped through the seal just as the 175 day shift workers were leaving the pit.  Most were unaware that there, had been, a disaster until they reached the surface.

Placido Mayeur, the mine superintendent, said ‘some kind of terrific pressure’ apparently had built up in the scaled-off section.  It was the second major explosion at the mine within a year.

“The men killed and injured apparently were just passing the sealed-off section.  The explosion caught them like the blast from a cannon barrel.  It seared them with flame and blew them against the wall of the tunnel they were walking through.  Fire broke out in the wake of the explosion.

“Early today, the bodies of the victims were taken to various Gibson county funeral homes.  They had laid during the evening on the floor of the Princeton armory which was converted into a temporary morgue.  Eleven of the dead were killed instantly.  Two others died after being taken to a hospital.

“The four injured men were being treated at the Gibson County hospital here….

“The mine had worked only about 65 days – in brief intervals…”  (Pharos Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Announce Accumulated Gas Caused Fatal Mine Blast.” 7-28-1948, p. 1.)

Sources

Bureau of Mines. July 27, 1948; Kings Mine, Princeton, Ind.: 13 Killed. Accessed 9-24-2023 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/1948_King_Mine_Report.pdf

National Fire Protection Association. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003). (Email attachment to B. W. Blanchard from Jacob Ratliff, NFPA Archivist/Taxonomy Librarian, 7-8-2013.)

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mining Safety and Health Research..  Mining Disasters: 1839 to Present. NIOSH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2-26-2013 update. Accessed 9-24-2023 at:

https://wwwn.cdc.gov/NIOSH-Mining/MMWC/MineDisasters/Table

Pharos Tribune, Logansport, IN. “Announce Accumulated Gas Caused Fatal Mine Blast.” 7-28-1948, 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=85752660&sterm

United States Mine Rescue Association. Mine Disasters in the United States. “Princeton Mining Company King Mine Explosion. Princeton, Gibsson County, Indiana, July 27, 1948, No. Killed – 13.” Accessed 9-24-2023 at: https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/king_news_only.htm

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