What is remembered lives on …
An Upper Big Branch Mine Remembrance Ceremony will be held Wednesday, April 5, 2023 at 12:00noon in the Miners Memorial Garden near Shoemaker Square adjacent to the Raleigh County Courthouse on Main St. in downtown Beckley, West Virginia.
The community is invited to gather at 12noon Wednesday April 5th to remember UBB on its 13th anniversary at the Raleigh County Courthouse at the UBB Miners Memorial Marker on Main Street in Beckley WV.
PLANS FOR RALEIGH COUNTY MINERS MEMORIAL TO BE ANNOUNCED
Following the service funding will be announced and rendering will be displayed of the plans for a Raleigh County Coal Miners Memorial wall to be constructed at New River Park the Exhibition Coal Mine exit portal dedicated on behalf of the families of the UBB miners and honoring all of the families of the over 2000 coal mining fatalities that have occurred in the history of Raleigh County.
The Upper Big Branch Mine disaster occurred on April 5, 2010 roughly 1,000 feet (300 m) underground in Raleigh County, West Virginia at the Upper Big Branch coal mine located in Montcoal. Twenty-nine out of thirty-one miners at the site were killed. The coal dust explosion occurred at 3:27 pm. The accident was the worst in the United States since 1970.
The UBB Remembrance has been spearheaded by Mick Bates of Raleigh County, since 2011 in collaboration with the City of Beckley, Raleigh County Commission, The Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce and Raleigh County and City of Beckley First Responders.
This year marks the 13th anniversary of the disaster.
