1945 El Teniente mining accident

The 1945 El Teniente mining accident, known locally as the Smoke Tragedy (Spanish: La tragedía del humo), is the largest mining accident in metal extraction in the history of Chile and, as of 2005, worldwide. It happened on June 19, 1945, in Chile's El Teniente mine in the Andes, which belonged to Braden Copper Company, a subsidiary of Kennecott Copper Corporation, both of the United States. A total of 355 men died, largely because of a nearby fire whose smoke trapped the workers in tunnels and resulted in carbon monoxide poisoning. Another 747 men were injured by the smoke.