Knox Mine disaster

A plan of the mine with marked glass that the miners fled

Knox Mine disaster - a mining disaster that took place on January 22, 1959, in the Ancranite Basin of Pennsylvania near Exeter. The accident occurred as a result of the Susquehanna River entering the pavements and excavations of the Knox Mine, resulting in the death of twelve miners. Attempts to cover up the resulting spawn have resulted in several islets on the river.

The Knox Coal Company's anthracite mine was flooded as a result of an unconstitutional management decision that instructed miners to crawl under Susquehanna's sidewalks. By digging tunnels without checking the thickness of the rock above the head of the miner, they reached a place where only 1.8 m of rock was separated from the river bottom (10.6 m behind the safety mud). Inadequate floor thickness was enough for the water to crush and crumble under the ground. Three days were spent filling up the gap in which the river formed a powerful whirlpool, with water falling from rubble and gravel to wagons and locomotives.

Twelve miners died; 69 managed to save. Amadeo Pancotti received the medal for being brave, as he first came to the surface with a ventilation duct, which turned out to be salvation for 33 others cut off by underground water. The bodies of twelve dead were never found, despite attempts to drain water from the mine. Here are the names of the victims: Samuel Altieri, John Baloga, Benjamin Boyar, Francis Burns, Charles Featherman, Joseph Gizenski, Dominic Kaveliski, Frank Orlowski, Eugene Ostrowski, William Sinclair, Daniel Stefanides, and Herman Zelonis.

It is estimated that at least 38 000 000 m³ of water filled the pits and pavements of the mine. Winners - among others The owner of the mine, Louis Fabrizio, his quiet associate August J. Lippi (who was also the chairman of the local miners' union) and three union activists - were brought to trial. Six were sentenced to prison.

On 22 January 2009, the 50th anniversary of the tragedy was celebrated. Holy Masses was celebrated in the Catholic church of St. John the Evangelist in Pittston and the former church of St. Joseph Port Griffith, where in 1999 a monument to victims was donated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. The church, due to the lack of faithful, was closed in May 2008, and in July it was put up for sale. On January 15, 2009, Susan and John Baloga, a grandson of John Balogi, one of the twelve miners who died in the disaster, bought the abandoned shrine. The Baloga Inc Funeral Home is now under construction. The 50th Anniversary has also become an opportunity to host a special program at the Anthracite Heritage Museum in Scranton, where the January tragedy is mentioned each year. Bibliography

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