It has been fifty years since the Lake Huron Water Tunnel Explosion in which 22 men died in a tunnel beneath Lake Huron. A memorial will be held on Saturday, December 11th at 2:30 p.m. at Fort Gratiot County Park off of Metcalf Road in Fort Gratiot.
There is a permanent memorial at the park commemorating the lives lost in the tragedy in 1971. The memorial will be a solemn event intended for those who were affected by the tragedy as well as the general public. An effort was made to contact the surviving family members.
The tunnel tragedy occurred while the men were working on the water line that was built to distribute water to Detroit and Flint. An enormous explosion occurred on one end of the tunnel, sending shockwaves to workers four miles from the initial spark, killing 21 workers immediately and one worker dying from injuries later.
The memorial is sponsored by LiUNA, the construction trades union. Most of the victims of the tragedy were union tradesmen.
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
