Twenty-six men were rescued on Thursday following an undisclosed period after undergoing frightful experiences.
Meet Death in Pit; Forty Miners Known to Have Been Killed as Result of Explosion
The Manti Messenger, Utah
March 29, 1912
Fort Smith, Ark., Mar. 21 -- Eighty-one miners were killed Wednesday as the result of an explosion in Mine No. 2 of the Sans Bois Coal Company at McCurtain, Okla., thirty-seven miles west of here.
Eleven of the miners escaped shortly after the explosion occurred. Several of these are injured so seriously that it is believed they will die.
Twenty-six men were rescued on Thursday after undergoing frightful experiences. Many of the miners who lost their lives are supposed to have died after the explosion, the foul air causing their deaths.
The explosion occurred shortly after 9 o'clock Wednesday morning. According to an official statement from the offices of the Fort Smith & Western Railways company, owners of the property, 116 men were working in the mine at the time. Whether gas or coal dust caused the explosion has not been determined.
Listing of the dead in the McCurtain mine disaster from rootsweb.com/okleflor.