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Diamond Coal and Coke Company
Diamondville No. 1 Mine Explosion

Diamondville, Lincoln County, Wyoming
December 2, 1905
No. Killed - 18

News articles from the period  PDF Format
Wyoming Mining Fatalities 1869-1973.
See also: Diamondville No. 1 Mine Asphyxiations, Feb. 12, 1899
  Diamondville No. 1 Mine Fire, Feb. 25, 1901
  Diamondville No. 1 Mine Explosion, Oct. 26, 1901

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Eighteen Killed in Mine
Waterloo Times-Tribune, Iowa
December 3, 1905

Salt Lake City, Dec. 2. -- An explosion occurring late Friday night in mine No. 1, at Diamondville, Wyo., caused heavy loss of life.  One telegram received here states that 18 men were killed.  Another dispatch states that 18 to 35 men were caught in the mine when the explosion occurred.  Reports received in Salt Lake City state the explosion was caused by a "blown" shot.

Through telephonic communication with the mine offices at Diamondville it is learned that 18 men, all who were in the mine, were killed.  Nearly all of these were English miners, who came to the Wyoming mines direct from England.  At 11 o'clock Saturday five bodies had been recovered.  Had the full night shift been at work in the mine, the loss of life probably would have been appalling.

The small shift of 18 men were working 4,000 feet down in the mine, knocking down coal to be taken out by the day shift.  Presumably, the men were close together in a bunch when the "blown" shot of giant powder exploded.  At the mine offices it is said that the workings are not materially damaged and that the mine will be shipping its usual output within four or five days.

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