In 1959 , the Knox Mine Disaster occurred in Port Griffith , Pennsylvania . The swelling Susquehanna River collapsed into a mine under it and resulted in 12 deaths . In Plymouth , Pennsylvania , the Avondale Mine Disaster of 1869 resulted in the deaths of 108 miners and two rescue workers after a fire in the only shaft eliminated the oxygen in the mine . Federal laws for mining safety resulted from this disaster . Pennsylvania suffered another disaster in 2002 at Quecreek , 9 miners were trapped underground and subsequently rescued after 78 hours . During 2006 , 72 miners lost their lives at work , 47 by coal mining . The majority of these fatalities occurred in Kentucky and West Virginia , including the Sago Mine Disaster . On April 5 , 2010 , in the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster an underground explosion caused the deaths of 29 miners
Upper Big Branch Mine disaster
Upper Big Branch Mine disaster
Mining accident