December 6, 1962: The Robena Coal Mine Explosion

December 6, 1962: An explosion at the United States Steel Corporation's Robena #3 mine near Carmichaels, in the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania, kills 37 coal miners, most of them suffocating from carbon monoxide gas.

A snowstorm raged through Carmichaels that day. While the snow fell, two explosions ripped through Frosty Run shaft. The first blast occurred around 1:05 PM, the second about 20 minutes later.

According to a December 7 article from the Daily Courier of Connellsville, "Workers in the corrugated structure got their first indication that something was wrong at 1 p.m. EST Thursday when the ventilator fan at the Frosty Run shaft stopped operating. Shortly after that miners came rushing out of the shaft." 

Miners from as far away as two miles from the blast site said, "they heard a 'thud,' some felt a rush of air. Some said the blast waves knocked their helmets off their heads." 

Some of the escaped miners would join the rescue teams that began to arrive on scene in hopes of rescuing the 37 trapped within the mine. Hope remained that the miners survived the explosions, although the odds were against them, and no communication had been heard since the explosion. Two of the miners trapped below were "crack rescue men," and hopes were that they would find an escape route.

Recovery operations began soon after the second explosion. Emergency equipment and supplies began to arrive, but with difficulty due to the heavy snow and strong winds. Many roads closed that night due to increasingly bad weather. 

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December 6, 1962 was a Thursday. Actress Janine Turner was born. And Bob Dylan recorded “Oxford Town,” “I Shall Be Free,” and “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.”

Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. There were 2 games played in the NBA. The New York Knicks beat the Cincinnati Royals, 99-96 at the Cincinnati Gardens. And the Chicago Zephyrs beat the St. Louis Hawks, 106-93 at the Chicago Coliseum.

And there was 1 game played in the NBA: The Detroit Red Wings beat the Boston Bruins, 5-3 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.