1945 the smoke tragedy left 355 workers dead in the underground c 06 19
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1945 81 years ago Historical Events June 19 2 sources

The Smoke Tragedy leaves 355 workers dead in the underground copper mine of El Teniente, Chile.

On June 19, in the year 1945, The Smoke Tragedy leaves 355 workers dead in the underground copper mine of El Teniente, Chile. This event is recorded as a Historical Events event in the history of June 19, one of 384 recorded events on this date across all of history.

The 1945 El Teniente mining accident, known locally as the Smoke Tragedy, is the largest mining accident in metal extraction in the history of Chile and, as of 2005, worldwide. It happened on June 19, 1945, in Chile's El Teniente mine in the Andes, which belonged to Braden Copper Company, a subsidiary of Kennecott Copper Corporation, both of the United States. A total of 355 men died, largely because of a nearby fire whose smoke trapped the workers in tunnels and resulted in carbon monoxide poisoning. Another 747 men were injured by the smoke.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on June 19, 1945 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Historical Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 2 Wikipedia articles.
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 19 March 2026.

On This Date in History 384

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Notable Deaths 2016 Jun 19 Anton Yelchin, American actor (born 1989)
Notable Deaths 2015 Jun 19 James Salter, American novelist and short-story writer (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jun 19 Oskar-Hubert Dennhardt, German general (born 1915)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jun 19 Gerry Goffin, American songwriter (born 1939)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jun 19 Ibrahim Touré, Ivorian footballer (born 1985)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jun 19 Vince Flynn, American author (born 1966)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jun 19 James Gandolfini, American actor (born 1961)
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Notable Deaths 2013 Jun 19 Dave Jennings, American football player and sportscaster (born 1952)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jun 19 Filip Topol, Czech singer-songwriter and pianist (born 1965)
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Historical Events 2012 Jun 19 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange requests asylum in London's Ecuadorian Embassy for fear of extradition to the US after
Notable Deaths 2012 Jun 19 Norbert Tiemann, American soldier and politician, 32nd Governor of Nebraska (born 1924)
Selected Events 2012 Jun 19 Facing allegations of sexual assault in Sweden, Julian Assange (pictured), the founder of WikiLeaks, requested asylum at
Notable Deaths 2010 Jun 19 Manute Bol, Sudanese-American basketball player and activist (born 1962)
Notable Deaths 2010 Jun 19 Anthony Quinton, Baron Quinton, English philosopher and academic (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2010 Jun 19 Carlos Monsiváis, Mexican writer, journalist and political activist (born 1938)
Selected Events 2010 Jun 19 The royal wedding of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and Daniel Westling took place in Stockholm Cathedral
Historical Events 2009 Jun 19 Mass riots involving over 10,000 people and 10,000 police officers break out in Shishou, China, over the dubious circums
Historical Events 2009 Jun 19 War in North-West Pakistan: The Pakistani Armed Forces open Operation Rah-e-Nijat against the Taliban and other Islamist
Selected Events 2009 Jun 19 Mass rioting broke out in Shishou, China, over the dubious circumstances surrounding the death of a local chef
Selected Events 2009 Jun 19 War in Afghanistan: British forces began Operation Panther's Claw, in which more than 350 troops made an aerial assault
Notable Deaths 2008 Jun 19 Barun Sengupta, Bengali journalist, founded Bartaman (born 1934)
Historical Events 2007 Jun 19 The al-Khilani Mosque bombing in Baghdad leaves 78 people dead and another 218 injured
Notable Deaths 2007 Jun 19 Antonio Aguilar, Mexican singer-songwriter, actor, producer, and screenwriter (born 1919)
Notable Deaths 2007 Jun 19 Alberto Mijangos, Mexican-American painter and educator (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2007 Jun 19 Terry Hoeppner, American football player and coach (born 1947)
Notable Deaths 2007 Jun 19 Ze'ev Schiff, Israeli journalist and author (born 1932)
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Selected Events 2005 Jun 19 Only six race cars competed in the United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana,
Notable Births 2004 Jun 19 Millie Gibson, English actress
Notable Deaths 2004 Jun 19 Clayton Kirkpatrick, journalist and newspaper editor (born 1915)
Notable Births 2002 Jun 19 Bennedict Mathurin, Canadian basketball player
Notable Births 2002 Jun 19 Nuno Mendes, Portuguese footballer
Notable Deaths 2001 Jun 19 Stanley Mosk, American lawyer, jurist, and politician (born 1912)
Notable Deaths 2001 Jun 19 John Heyer, Australian director and producer (born 1916)
Notable Births 1999 Jun 19 Jordan Poole, American basketball player
Notable Births 1998 Jun 19 Atticus Shaffer, American actor and YouTuber
Notable Births 1998 Jun 19 Joshua Da Silva, Trinidadian cricketer
Notable Deaths 1995 Jun 19 Peter Townsend, Burmese-English captain and pilot (born 1914)
Notable Births 1994 Jun 19 Lejla Njemčević, Bosnian cross-country and mountain bike cyclist
Notable Births 1993 Jun 19 KSI, English YouTuber
Notable Deaths 1993 Jun 19 William Golding, British novelist, playwright, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1911)

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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