LAYLAND, WV (LOOTPRESS) – One of West Virginia’s deadliest mining disasters occurred 110 years ago today when an explosion ripped through the Layland No. 3 mine, killing 112 men on the morning of March 2, 1915.
The New River & Pocahontas Consolidated Coal Company operated several drift mines in Layland, located eight railroad miles north of Quinnimont.
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At 8:30 a.m., a powerful blast erupted from the mine, blowing out the drift mouth and killing a grocery delivery man who happened to be walking nearby.
Seven miners managed to escape shortly after the explosion, offering a glimmer of hope to the anxious crowd gathered outside.
Over the next three days, rescue teams recovered bodies and searched desperately for more survivors.
On March 6, five more men emerged alive. They had survived by barricading themselves against the afterdamp—a deadly gas mixture following mine explosions.
The survivors revealed that 41 other miners had also attempted to seal themselves off deeper inside the mine.
Rescuers hurried in and found the famished men, some of whom had written farewell notes to their families, fearing they would never escape.
The cause of the explosion quickly became a point of contention. Federal investigators attributed the disaster to an ignition of methane gas, which was worsened by coal dust.
State officials, however, argued that improper blasting techniques inside the mine were to blame.
Further controversy arose when the U.S. Secretary of the Interior proposed awarding gold medals to federal rescue workers.
Local volunteers and state officials questioned the role of federal teams, claiming the miners’ survival was due to their own quick thinking rather than outside intervention.
The explosion remains the deadliest mining disaster in Fayette County.
