thumb | right | The machine of Benxihu Coal and Iron Co., Ltd
Benxihu (Honkeiko) Colliery () was a coal mine in Benxi, Liaoning, China, first mined in 1905. Originally an iron and coal mining project under joint Japanese and Chinese control, the mine came under predominantly Japanese control. In the early 1930s, Japan invaded the northeast of China, and Liaoning province became part of the Japanese-controlled puppet state of Manchukuo. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese forced Chinese labourers—some of whom had been captured from local military organizations—to work the colliery under very poor conditions. Food was scarce and workers did not have sufficient clothing. Working conditions were harsh, and diseases such as typhoid and cholera flourished due to poor sanitation and water supplies. Typically, miners worked 12-hour shifts or longer. The Japanese controllers were known to beat workers with pick handles, and the perimeter of the mine was fenced and guarded. Many describe the conditions as slave labour.
Coal dust explosion
On April 26, 1942, a gas and coal-dust explosion in the mine sent flames bursting from the mine shaft entrance. Miners' relatives rushed to the site but were denied entry by a cordon of Japanese guards, who erected electric fences to keep them out.
It took workers ten days to remove all the corpses and rubble from the shaft. The dead were buried in a mass grave nearby. Many victims could not be properly identified due to the extent of the burns. The Japanese at first reported the death toll to be 34. 34% of the miners working that day. It was the worst disaster in the history of coal mining and the second-worst recorded industrial accident. Of this number, 31 fatalities were Japanese; the remaining 1,518 were Chinese.