Manmade Cave Collapses With People Inside

On August 5th, 2007, dozens of miners entered the massive labyrinth that was the Crandall Canyon Mine. Unbeknownst to the miners, something terrible was waiting deep underground and horrifyingly, for many of them, this would be the last time they would ever see the light of day. This is their story, and as always, viewer discretion is advised.

As per YouTube's new AI disclosure policy, you may see a box pop up that says "Altered or synthetic content". To give specifics on how it's used on this channel, we use it to generate some scenes where real and stock images are not available, as well as some of the AI tools in various programs to speed workflow. Otherwise, all scripts, voiceovers, video editing, etc. is done by humans.

Attributions/Special Thanks for Photographs:
TCP0203, Landsat / Copernicus

Writing and research by Jay Adams

This video contains light dramatic reenactment but no actual footage or pictures of anyone being harmed or who has been harmed. The thumbnail is NOT a real image.

And a huge thank you to the Scary Interesting team of writers, editors, captioners, and everyone else who make this channel possible.

[brycedaugherty]

I knew a guy that worked in this mine. His job was to determine the stability and safety of the mine. He quit like 2 weeks before this incident happened and he encouraged everyone to join him. But not everyone believed him. It's crazy when something like this is close to home.

He mentioned that the greed was just too much and they wouldn't leave the pillars alone.

[GLTCHD]

So 6 miners dead + 3 rescue workers and fines totally a whopping 1.8M between both companies? And no jail time?
That's insane.

[deathstroke]

Isn't it funny how the "mountain is evil" excuse is only used after people are killed? The day before the accident the owner wasn't even slightly concerned.

[calex]

Its crazy how companies pay fines instead of somebody going to prison

[Auriam]

This is absolutely why we need real consequences, because the mountains themselves are not evil. Corporate greed is evil.

[pariahzero]

I'm a local, and I remember this being constantly on the news: You covered this well! Good details, excellent job!

For a bit of additional detail - like most of the other mining disaster videos on this channel, other local miners in the relatively small community rushed to the area to help out, but weren't wholly welcome. The other miners (not so shockingly) knew miners at Crandall Canyon, everybody likes to complain about their jobs, and word gets around small communities.

So when the mining company became _extremely_ tight-lipped (ostensibly to protect its reputation), the outside (but still local) miners had _no problems_ filling in blanks when the media asked about their missing friends.

The MSHA got testimony from mine workers eventually, but the mine owner wasn't too pleased that the media heard it from these 'outsiders' first.

[keatonbarney]

My dad worked at a coal mine just 30 minutes from this mine for over 30 years. Lots and lots of cave ins, but nobody ever died. I got to go on a tour one day and I almost shit my pants. The bounces were nothing like I’ve ever experienced. Mining is arguably the most intense job you can have.

[JohnDoe-ugsu]

it doesn't dawn on me how big the mine is until you showed a photo of a truck inside the mine.
This mine is huge

[secondghost]

"It's not my fault. That mountain is evil!"

[willj]

This happened when I had just made a career change from construction to mining. It has formed a lot of my views towards safety. I have used this story many times with my crews to remind them the importance of advocating for safety. As a former manager of mine would say, "nobody can care more about your safety than you can"

[Westernkoala]

There's such an influx of similar channels that I'm convinced are AI generated. Appreciate your channel and content more because of this.

[bradkempton]

In a situation like this, there's only 1 thing you can guarantee. The company is going to do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING they can think of to deflect responsibility/blame. Sure, they'll say their "number 1 priority" is saving the people trapped and "conducting a thorough investigation to ensure something like this can never happen again, " but their true priority is finding someone to blame and deflect any responsibility.

[arthurchen]

Owner: The mountain is evil.

Dept of Labor: No fuck off.

[ChicagoFaucet.etc.]

I used to work for a company that supplied mines with the equipment that they used (very lucrative, by the way). I visited one of the mines that we supplied one time. I wasn't allowed to get anywhere near the actual mine, but I was allowed to talk to people in the main building (which was huge). They had this illuminated display, kind of like the floor directories that you see in a mall, which mapped-out all of the mine shafts. It was explained to me that the architecture of digging a mine today is equivalent to the opposite of building a skyscraper. You hollow out areas, and leave natural structures in place for support. I found the whole thing fascinating. The beginning shot of the map of the mine just reminded me of that.

[NJRDC]

This tragedy indirectly led to John Oliver and Last Week Tonight dunking on Murray (the mine owner) so hard he sued, lost, then had a stunning musical number called “Eat Shit, Bob!” made about him in the follow up episode. It wasn’t until I watched your episode again I made the connection.

[brandonmcgrew]

This is one of the few channels where I watch every video and have notifications for when they post. Such an incredible story teller.

[Yaogurt]

I’ve been in an old coal mine section before (which was obviously made safe for visitors) and they had this explosion effect which mimicked them blowing sections up and let me tell you standing in that dark tunnel and feeling that rumble is super scary even when knowing it’s safe.

They also had a section of one of the big chambers for viewing. Very interesting experience!

For those interested; It’s in Black Country Museum in Birmingham UK

[insanity]

Holy rocks and stones, this is the most complicated mine I have seen thus far!

[shipperturtle]

I like how you keep things scary but never fail to stay interesting, keep it up, im a big fan.

[vonFisch]

The mine owner, Robert E. Murray, was a real bastard. HBO's Last Week Tonight made a whole episode about him