At Miike coal mine, Miike, Japan, an explosion kills 458, and hospitalises 839 with carbon monoxide poisoning.
Miike coal mine (三池炭鉱, Miike Tankō), also known as the Mitsui Miike Coal Mine (三井三池炭鉱, Mitsui Miike Tankō), was the largest coal mine in Japan, located in the area of Ōmuta, Fukuoka and Arao, Kumamoto, Japan.
In 1960, it was the setting for the "Miike Struggle," which was the largest management-labor dispute in Japanese history.