Editing Pittston, Pennsylvania (section)

====Mining disasters====
{{Further|Knox Mine disaster|Twin Shaft disaster}}
[[File:Twin Shaft Dsiaster.jpg|thumb|An illustration of the [[Twin Shaft disaster]] in Pittston immediately after the shaft's collapse in 1896]]
Coal mining remained the prominent industry in Pittston for many decades, but disasters did strike on more than one occasion. The first major tragedy, the [[Twin Shaft disaster]],  occurred at the Newton Coal Company near the city's railroad junction. In the early morning hours of June 28, 1896, 90 miners were at work in the Red Ash Vein of the Newton Coal Company's Twin Shaft Mine in Pittston when, at 3:00&nbsp;am, the roof quickly collapsed. The concussion from the explosion was so great that it was heard for miles around. The foundation of nearly every building in Pittston was shaken. The cave-in killed 58 miners, including the city's then-acting mayor.<ref>[http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=10470 Twin Shaft Disaster Marker]. Hmdb.org. Retrieved on August 9, 2013.</ref>

Anthracite coal mining remained a major industry in the [[Greater Pittston]] region until the [[Knox Mine disaster]]. It essentially killed the industry in [[Northeastern Pennsylvania]]. On January 22, 1959, the ice-laden Susquehanna River broke through the roof of the River Slope Mine of the Knox Coal Company in nearby [[Port Griffith, Pennsylvania|Port Griffith]] (in [[Jenkins Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania|Jenkins Township]]). This allowed for billions of gallons of river water to flood the interconnected mines. It took three days to plug the hole in the riverbed, which was done by dumping large railroad cars, smaller mine cars, [[Anthracite#Names|culm]], and other debris into the whirlpool formed by the water draining into the mine.<ref name="Underground miners">{{cite web | url=http://www.undergroundminers.com/knox.html | title=Knox Mine Disaster | date=2005 | access-date=December 29, 2016 | author=Chris Murley | archive-date=December 30, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230160002/http://www.undergroundminers.com/knox.html | url-status=dead }}</ref>

Sixty-nine miners escaped; twelve miners died and their bodies were never recovered. The heroic efforts of one miner, [[Myron Thomas]] of [[Taylor, Pennsylvania|Taylor]], led 26 miners to safety. Another group of six men was led by Pacifico "Joe" Stella of Pittston. Amedeo Pancotti was part of the second group, and for his remarkable climb out of the Eagle Air Shaft to the surface; he was later awarded the Carnegie Medal for Heroism from the [[Carnegie Hero Fund Commission]].

At 5:15&nbsp;pm on November 27, 1942, the cave-in of an [[anthracite]] mine, that had not been operated since 1868, caused the earth of a half square mile of Pittston to crack and subside.

The largest crack was "...five feet wide, 150 feet long and so deep the bottom was not visible. Two hundred homes were twisted, cracked or sprung from their foundations. Sidewalks were torn up and gas and water mains snapped in several places.  Water cascaded through the streets and flooded cellars."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1942/11/29/85612525.html?pageNumber=17|title=EARTH SPLITS OPEN AS MINE SUBSIDES – Houses Crack, Pavements Buckle, Families Flee in Pennsylvania|date=November 29, 1942|work=The New York Times|page=17}}</ref>

"Since 1942 the Pennsylvania DEP [Department of Environmental Protection] and its predecessor, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources (PADER), as well as the U.S. Department of the Interior/Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), have investigated 149 mine-related subsidence events in the city."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://files.dep.state.pa.us/Mining/Abandoned%20Mine%20Reclamation/AbandonedMinePortalFiles/Publications/AMLRelatedTechnicalPapers/Pittston_Mine_Subsidence_Study-2012.pdf|title=City of Pittston Mine Subsidence Study|last=Palladino, P.E.|first=Dennis M.}}</ref>