Coal Mining Fatalities
This database contains 2497 known Nova Scotia coal mining fatalities. Names, dates, places, mines, and causes of death have been painstakingly compiled. Despite this, it is by no means a complete list. Fatalities occurred before records were kept; descriptions of incidents and those involved were lost along with coal company records. Official recording of multiple deaths may have missed some names; in some cases, names are misspelled. However, this is likely the most complete list that exists. Please contact us if you know names to add.
Displaying page 2 of 50 pages (2497 entries).
| Surname |
Given Name(s) |
Year | County | Mine | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell | Alex | 1956 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 4 | Electricity-fired coal dust explosion |
| MacKinnon | Alex | 1905 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 3 | Bump |
| McGillivray | Alex | 1871 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Killed in the Foord by gas |
| MacLean | Alex | 1867 | Pictou County | unidentified shaft being sunk or Cage pit | Methane explosion |
| LeBlanc | Alex | 1927 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Crushed: 2 runaway boxes hit box he was lifting |
| McCosh | Alex | 1890 | Cape Breton County | Gowrie | Fall of stone from roof |
| Jenson or Jamieson | Alex | 1914 | Pictou County | Albion | Run over by a box |
| Degaust | Alex | 1915 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 7 | Fall of stone |
| Bigney or Bignay | Alex | 1908 or 1909 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 3 | Fall of stone |
| MacLean | Alex | 1937 | Pictou County | Acadia No. 7 (Moss mine) | Fall of coal |
| Poirier | Alex | 1971 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 26 | Natural Causes |
| Aexter | Alex | 1911 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines No. 3 (Florence) | Explosion |
| Arseneau | Alex | 1916 | Cumberland | Victoria | Fall of roof |
| McDonad | Alex | 1928 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Fall of coal |
| Dugas | Alex | 1917 | Cape Breton County | Colonial | Crushed between box and rib |
| Glenn | Alex | 1895 | Pictou County | Acadia | Fall from roof of working face |
| Caporallo | Alex | 1936 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 2 | Struck by trip |
| McSween | Alex | 1954 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 4 | Construction |
| Graham | Alex | 1913 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 15 | Fall of stone |
| Dixon | Alex | 1943 | Inverness | Inverness No. 1 | Fall of stone |
| Rordenan | Alex | 1919 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 5 | Fall of stone |
| Foster | Alex | 1894 | Pictou County | Albion | Run over by a coal trip |
| Steele | Alex | 1928 | Cape Breton County | Florence | Fall of stone |
| Liddle | Alex | 1904 | Cumberland | Chignecto | Caught between box & coal crib, died 9 days later |
| McIntyre | Alex | 1929 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Struck by cage |
| McNeil | Alex H | 1941 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 24 | Attempted to get on moving train |
| MacKenzie | Alex J. | 1970 | Cape Breton County | DEVCO No. 26 | Struck by a trip on the south angle |
| McDonald | Alex P. | 1943 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 4 | Crushed between boxes |
| Munroe | Alex W. | 1942 | Pictou County | McGregor | Hit by a trip |
| Campbell | Alexander | 1899 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Fall of loose coal from hung shot |
| Fraser | Alexander | 1883 | Pictou County | Vale | Drawbar broke, crash of runaway slope rake |
| Morrison | Alexander | 1902 | Cape Breton County | Caledonia | Fall of coal from pillar |
| Hacquoil | Alexander | 1914 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Fatal injuries |
| Murray | Alexander | 1873 | Pictou County | Drummond mine (Intercolonial) | Devastating methane explosion |
| McVicar | Alexander | 1904 | Cape Breton County | International | Fall of coal from face |
| Vickers | Alexander | 1906 | Cape Breton County | Sydney Mines (Princess) | Killed trying to jump on a full trip |
| McKinnon | Alexander | 1895 | Cape Breton County | Dominion No. 1 | Methane explosion; 1 of 2 killed |
| Jessoe | Alexander | 1934 | Cape Breton County | Colonial No. 1 | Fall of stone |
| Handley | Alexander | 1964 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Haulage |
| McInnis | Alexander | 1895 | Cape Breton County | Victoria | Caught between coal box and pillar |
| MacDougall | Alexander | 1964 | Cape Breton County | Princess | Haulage |
| MacLean | Alexander | 1980 | Cape Breton County | Prince | Crushed by bucket against wall of shaft |
| MacDonald | Alexander | 1880 | Pictou County | Foord pit | Devastating methane explosion |
| Beaton | Alexander | 1935 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Shot blew back exploding methane and coal dust; 1 of 7 killed; asphixiation by carbon monoxide |
| Gabriel | Alexander | 1918 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 2 | Fall of stone |
| Eloi | Alexander | 1918 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Devastating methane explosion |
| Smith | Alexander | 1918 | Pictou County | Allan Shaft | Devastating methane explosion |
| Ryan | Alexander | 1873 | Cape Breton County | Lingan | Fall of coal |
| Bunton | Alexander | 1891 | Cumberland | Springhill No. 1 & No. 2 | Massive gas and coal dust explosioni |
| MacDonald | Alexander | 1922 | Inverness | bootleg pit | Methane gas poisoning; 1 of 3 killed |