to reconnect No. 6 fan, but the inability to clear the mine of gases further delayed and complicated rescue and recovery efforts. One Polish miner was rescued, and four Italian miners escaped. The official death toll stood at 362, 171 of them Italian migrants. Others killed in the disaster included Russians, Greeks, and immigrant workers from Austria-Hungary. 216 women were widowed, and the miners left behind 475 children, with a further 31 born after the disaster. As a result of the explosion along with other disasters, the public began demanding additional oversight to help regulate the mines. In 1910 Congress created the United States Bureau of Mines, with the goal of investigating and inspecting mines to reduce explosions and to limit the waste of human and natural resources. In addition, the Bureau of Mines set up field officers that would train mine crews, provide rescue services, and investigate disasters. Memorials In 2003, to commemorate the explosion, the Italian commune of San Giovanni in Fiore, from which many of the miners had emigrated, erected a memorial to those killed in the disaster. In 2007, the Monongah Heroine, a statue dedicated to the miners' widows, was unveiled. The monument was erected due to the efforts of Father Joseph Briggs, a local Catholic priest and historian of the Monongah disaster. In 2007, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the explosion, the Italian region of Molise presented a bell to the town of Monongah. Today the bell sits in the Monongah town square. In 2009, the President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, conferred the Order of Merit for Labour () upon the victims of the disaster. Relief fund After the disaster, the Monongah Mine Relief Committee was established in order to provide aid to those affected by the event. Two subcommittees were set up within this organization: the Executive Committee, in charge of raising national awareness about the disaster; and the Subscription Committee, in charge of receiving and directing aid to survivors and miners' families. Others involved in relief efforts included industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, whose Hero Fund provided relief to the survivors of those killed during rescue and recovery works. The Red Cross dispatched a special representative, Margaret F. Byington, to assist with gathering information on the survivors in order to coordinate relief efforts. Aftermath Although subsequent investigations were unable to uncover the true cause of the explosions, the severity of