Flags at City of Nanaimo facilities will be lowered to half mast on Monday. The gesture is to mark the 134th anniversary of the coal mining disaster that took place on May 3, 1887.
The disaster took 148 lives in two explosions in the No. 1 Esplanade Mine. A jury determined the explosion was caused by an unprepared and poorly planted charge that ignited gas fuelled by coal dust.
It is the worst mining disaster in British Columbia history, and second worst in Canadian history – only after the HIllcrest Mine disaster that took 189 lives in Hillcrest, Alberta. Nanaimo’s population was only a little over 2,000 at the time of the disaster, meaning around 7% of the population was taken in the accident.
“We are remembering and honouring the 150 lives that were tragically lost in our community,” said Nanaimo mayor, Leonard Krog, “Those who died were our hard working pioneers who left loving families behind, but we have never forgotten.”
If you’d like to learn more about this, or in general about Nanaimo’s coal mining history you can check out the coal exhibit at the Nanaimo Museum which is open for timed admission from 10am-4pm Tuesday to Saturday.
