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Glen Alden Coal Company
Buttonwood Colliery Explosion

Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
March 29, 1951
No. Killed - 5

1951 Pennsylvania Annual Report PDF Format
1951 Anthracite Fatalities  (1.2 Mb) PDF Format
See more Glen Alden Coal Company Disasters
See also: Buttonwood Colliery Explosion, Oct. 25, 1901
In the News
News icon The Times-Tribune, Mar. 29, 1951
News icon Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, Mar. 30, 1951
News icon The Times Leader, Mar. 31, 1951
News icon The Morning Press, Mar. 30, 1951
Image icon Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, Mar. 31, 1951
Image icon Standard-Speaker, Apr. 7, 1951


Explosion Kills Two Coal Miners
Port Standard, Syracuse, New York
March 30, 1951

Wilkes-Barre, Pa., March 29. -- (AP) -- A mine explosion killed two men and injured seven others today.  Four of the injured were reported in critical condition at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital.

The blast, apparently set off by a gas pocket, occurred in the Inman shaft of a Glen Alden Coal Company colliery in nearby Hanover Township.

Damage was localized in the shaft.  Work was not interrupted except in the section where the blast occurred.

The two miners killed were identified as Anthony Saldon, fire boss, and Alfred Mastalski, laborer.

Critically injured were Walter Knopke, 44; George Miller, 33; James Holson, 44 and Adam Redenski, 42.

Also hurt were John Pepe, 28; Anthony Gabriel, 31 and George Saldon, 53.  They were treated at the hospital and discharged.

Official list of the dead:
  • Adam Redenski
  • Walter Konopke
  • Albert Mastalski
  • George Miller
  • Anthony Soldon
Source: 1951 Anthracite Fatalities  (1.2 Mb) PDF Format
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