Nanaimo mine explosion (1887)

Between 1879 and 1888 four major and two minor explosions killed 262 men in the coal mines of Nanaimo, B.C. In the worst of these, on 3 May 1887, 147 men died at the Vancouver Coal Mining and Land Company’s no.1 mine. The tunnels were dry, often dusty, and usually gassy, and were therefore prone to explosions. The mining boom in the Nanaimo coalfield at this time intensified clashes between the men and their employers.