On March 25, 1947, a violent explosion struck Centralia Coal Company Mine No. 5 in Wamac, Illinois. By March 29, it was confirmed that the explosion, combined with the subsequent release of poisonous gas, had taken the lives of 111 of the 142 men working in the mine at the time of the accident. The disaster focused state and national attention on known hazardous conditions at Mine No. 5 and in the coal mining industry as a whole, ultimately leading to passage of new mine safety regulations for the industry.