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O'Gara Coal Company
O'Gara No. 8 Mine Explosion

Eldorado, Saline County, Illinois
February 14, 1921
No. Killed - 3

Note: After this explosion and fire and subsequent death of these three rescuers, this mine became known as the Sahara Coal Company No. 8 mine.
USBM Correspondence  PDF Format
News articles from the period  PDF Format
More Double and Triple Fatality Mining Accidents  PDF Format


Rescuer Deaths

Three men lost their lives by suffocation in oxygen apparatus while opening a fire sealed area to see if the fire was extinguished.  The oxygen of one of the three-man crew was fully consumed and the two other men used up all their oxygen in attempted rescue of the one man who went down.  Members of the fresh apparatus crew outside the seal quickly brought the bodies to fresh air and artificial respiration was applied but failed.

These men were killed following an explosion of gas in O'Gara Coal Company's No. 8 mine, Eldorado, Saline County.
  • Frank Day, trackman, age 42 years, married, leaves a widow and one child.
  • Leland Miller, laborer, age 19 years, single.
  • Henry Wright, laborer, age 41 years, married, leaves a widow.




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