Four Cruelly Crushed to Death by Coal May 27, 1927 (Showa 2)

Four people were killed in two large-scale coal-dust cave-ins  that occurred inside the Hashima Coalmine in the morning and afternoon of May 24. One of the dead was a Korean miner.

 

Nagasaki Nichi-nichi Shimbun (July 27, 1927 [Showa 2])

 

Authorship: Materials provided by National Diet Library

 

Nagasaki Nichi-nichi Shimbun: Newspaper

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Four Cruelly Crushed to Death by Coal; Two Tragic

Accidents at Hashima Coalmine in Morning and Afternoon;

All Discovered Not Breathing

 

Two accidents occurred in Hashima Coalmine located outside Nagasaki Port in the morning and afternoon of the 24th. Four miners were cruelly crushed to death in the two coal-dust cave-ins.

 

At around 5 a.m. on the 24th, Yasuo Onohara (age 38, residing at Hashima Miners’ Dormitory in Nish-Sonogi District, Takahama Village) and Sanroku Takenaga (age 31, domiciled at Hiroshima Prefecture, Takada District, Yoshida Town and residing at No. 30 Hashima Miners’ Dormitory 3rd Floor) entered the No. 4 Tunnel together with members of the first shift. At around 8:25 a.m., they were working on installing ceiling frames in the No. 10 Shaft when suddenly a coal-dust collapse occurred with a tremendous noise, swallowing the two miners under coal-dust equivalent to about 30 crates. Upon receiving reports that the fate of the two was unknown, Police Officer Rikitake rushed a rescue team consisting of mine officers and others to the scene. After removing the slag, Onohara was discovered at around 9:15 followed by Takenaga at around 9:30. Both were found not breathing with black coal-dust lodged deeply in their mouths and noses. The two were immediately carried to the mine office where the mine’s medical officer, Dr. Ooka, administered emergency measures, but to no avail.

 

 

Cries for Help Gradually Grew Weaker;

Finally Could Not be Heard Anymore

 

In the afternoon of the same day when two were killed in the No. 4 Tunnel, two more miners were killed in the No. 3 Tunnel. The two were姜萬栄 (Kang Man-yeong) (age 34, domiciled in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, Korea, and residing with Saburo Ando in Hashima Coalmine company housing), and Kiyosuke Inoue (age 33, domiciled in Hyogo Prefecture, Sayo District, Sasaki Village, and residing at No. 30 Hashima company housing). The two entered the No. 3 Tunnel together with members of the second shift on the 24th and were engaged in excavating coal when coal-dust began to fall from the ceiling with a crackling noise at around 12:30 p.m. Sensing the impending danger, the miners rushed to leave the shaft. But just at that moment, coal-dust equivalent to about 50 to 60 mine cars came crashing down with a deafening noise and buried both of them. The two miners were heard crying for help as they yelled, “Help us!” a dozen times or more. Hearing their call for help, the squad leader accompanied by several others rushed to the scene and began to remove the debris. Even as they worked, the calls for help gradually grew weaker until finally they could not be heard anymore. The rescue team worked desperately to remove the coal-dust and save their co-workers. About 20 minutes later, Man Yeong was found, followed by Kiyosuke some 25 minutes later. Both had sustained multiple injuries and coal-dust had lodged deeply in their mouths, and they were no longer breathing. Dr. Ooka administered emergency measures but to no avail as two more lives were lost in a tragic accident.

 

(May 27, Showa 2 [1927])