| Protection Island Mining Disaster | |
| Location: | Protection Island near Nanaimo British Columbia, Canada |
| Type: | Mining accident |
| Cause: | Hoising cable break, transport cab fall |
| Reported Deaths: | 16 |
The Protection Island mining disaster killed 16 miners and occurred on Protection Island near Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. The disaster occurred at 7:10a.m.[1] on when the hoisting cable frayed on the cab that was lowering miners into the mine. Six other cabs of 16 miners each had preceded the cab which fell 300 feet (~100 m) into the mine. The bodies of the miners were mangled to the point where personal effects were used to identify the victims.[2] [3] It was later determined that salt water in the air had caused corrosion of the cable leading to the accident.