The Luisenthal Mine was a

coal mine Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

near

Völklingen Völklingen (; , Moselle Franconian: ''Välglinge'') is a town in the district of Saarbrücken, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Saar, approx. 10 km west of Saarbrücken, and directly borders France. The town is known for ...

. The mine was known as the site of the largest mine accident in the history of the German Federal Republic, when 299 miners died on 7 February 1962.

1962 mine disaster

On 7 February 1962 a methane explosion occurred after the opening of a

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...

-containing cavern in the Alsbach field. This triggered a larger

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

dust explosion with devastating effects. 284 workers were killed, making this the greatest mining catastrophe in the history of the

Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...

coal mining area.

References

1962 in West Germany Buildings and structures in Saarbrücken (district) Economy of Saarland Mining disasters in Germany 1962 disasters in Germany Coal mines in Germany Coal mining disasters in Germany Underground mines in Germany {{Germany-geo-stub

1962 mine disaster

See also

References