Frank Slide: Canada’s Deadliest Mountain Collapse | Disasters of the Century S1

In their quest to explore the natural wealth of their country, Canadians have braved the risks of their terrain. The residents of the Crowsnest Pass in Alberta have chosen to live amongst a valley of death, living on the edge of imminent disaster at every turn. The Frank Slide: At 4:00 am on April 29,1903, the side of Turtle mountain unexpectedly disintegrated, depositing two hundred million tons of debris on the sleeping people of Frank, NWT (now Alberta). The slide quickly roared through the booming mining town claiming 76 of the 100 lives in its path. The Hillcrest Mine Disaster: In the shadow of Turtle Mountain and the rubble of the Frank Slide, the Hillcrest Mine had started its morning shift on June 19, 1914, when an explosion ripped through Tunnel 33, killing 189 of the 215 men at work that day in Canada’s worst mining disaster.