Twenty five years ago, 26 men went to work in the Westray Mine of Plymouth, Nova Scotia. They never returned home.

At 5:18 a.m. on May 9, 1992, a methane gas explosion shook the mine and claimed the lives of all the workers within it. Rescue efforts managed to retrieve the bodies of 15 men, while the remaining 11 were irrecoverable. 

On May 9, across Nova Scotia, we remember. 

Memorial services throughout the province will pay respect to the victims and consider the ways in which the tragedy continues to reverberate within their families, their communities and the province. 

A Memorial March and Service will be held at the Westray Miners Memorial Park. There will be a Memorial Service in the park later that evening at 7 p.m., followed by a Celebration of Life reception at the Museum of Industry at 8 p.m. 

“Each fatality is a human story - of loss, of tragedy, of heartache,” says Stuart MacLean, CEO of WCB Nova Scotia. “Each is a preventable death. Each is a person who should be here today, but is not, because something happened at a workplace.”

To learn more about the memorial, click here.