1. Coal Miners
Coal miners have long faced life-threatening dangers, including explosions, cave-ins, toxic gases, and black lung disease. The rise of coal during the Industrial Revolution powered cities but demanded immense sacrifice from those who toiled underground. Notorious disasters like the Courrières mine disaster exemplify the risks miners endured in pursuit of progress. On March 10, 1906, an explosion and fire in the Courrières mine in northern France resulted in the deaths of 1,099 miners, making it one of Europe’s worst mining accidents (britannica.com).
