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Memorial Ceremony on 100th Anniversary of Baltimore Mine Disaster

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Wednesday marks the 100th anniversary of the Baltimore Mine Disaster in Luzerne County, one of the deadliest coal mining disasters in ...

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. -- Wednesday marks the 100th anniversary of the Baltimore Mine Disaster in Luzerne County, one of the deadliest coal mining disasters in Pennsylvania.

A ceremony organized by faculty at King's College was held on Spring Street in Wilkes-Barre at the spot where almost 100 miners were killed on June 5, 1919.

Blasting powder hit an electrical wire in the mine tunnel, causing an explosion. 92 people died and 60 were hurt.

"I think it's a way of connecting where we are in the present in the past. It's also the case that this terrible event was forgotten for a long, long time," said Thomas Mackaman, King's College department of history.

The names of the miners who were killed were read at the ceremony in Wilkes-Barre.

A historical marker at the site of the disaster was unveiled five years ago.

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