No.9: The 1968 Farmington Mine Disaster

Ninety-nine men entered the cold, dark tunnels of the Consolidation Coal Company's No.9 Mine in Farmington, West Virgina, on November 20, 1968. Some were worried about the condition of the mine. It had too much coal dust, too much methane gas. They knew that either one could cause an explosion.

What the men of No.9 did not know was that a safety alarm on the Mods Run fan had been disabled from the large ventilation unit that blew fresh air into the mine. That was a death sentence for most of...