Nanaimo’s municipal flags are being flown at half-mast until Monday to honour the 150 coal miners who died as a result of two explosions on May 3, 1887.
The accident at the No. 1 Esplanade Mine was the worst mining disaster in B.C.’s history and the second worst in Canada.
The explosion was blamed on the firing of an unprepared and badly planted charge that ignited accumulated gas fuelled by coal dust. Only seven men survived.
A memorial plaque was installed at 1151 Milton St. in Nanaimo, where the No. 1 Esplanade underground mine was located.
“No single event scarred our city and its people more than this disaster,” said Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog. “It is our obligation to never let this event disappear from our community’s memory.”
