1941 Kohlendorf mining disaster
The 1941 Kohlendorf mining disaster near Neurode | |
| Date | 10 May 1941 |
|---|---|
| Time | about 22:45 |
| Location | Ruben mine, Kohlendorf (now Kolno) near Neurode (now Nowa Ruda), Province of Lower Silesia, Germany |
| Cause | Carbon dioxide outburst during blasting work |
| Outcome | One of the deadliest mining disasters in Lower Silesia |
| Deaths | 187 (including one British prisoner of war; some later local memorial traditions count 186) |
| Non-fatal injuries | 5 rescued during the relief operation; 1 miner escaped unaided |
| Property damage | Severe disruption to workings of the Ruben mine |
The Kohlendorf mining disaster was a deadly mining accident that occurred on 10 May 1941 at the Ruben mine in Kohlendorf (now Kolno), near Neurode (now Nowa Ruda) in Lower Silesia, then part of Nazi Germany. At about 22:45, a violent carbon dioxide and rock outburst occurred during blasting in Crosscut No. 2 on the fifth level of the Franz seam, around 610 metres (2,000 ft) below ground.
A total of 257 miners were underground at the time. Sixty-four reached the surface through the Max shaft, one escaped through the Anna shaft, and five others were brought out during the rescue operation. The remaining 187 died. The dead included one British prisoner of war, later identified as Gunner Charles William "Chick" Page of the Royal Artillery. Because the accident happened during a shift change, both the outgoing afternoon shift and the incoming night shift were underground, which greatly increased the death toll.
Although the disaster was one of the worst mining accidents in the history of Lower Silesia, wartime censorship sharply limited press coverage. Contemporary regional newspapers reported the accident and the funeral only briefly, without describing its full scale in detail.