Why was building the Suez Canal so dangerous?

Spanning 120 miles between the Mediterranean and Red Seas, building the Suez Canal was an astonishing work of engineering. However, this great feat came at a cost.

We’re unsure of the exact total number of deaths, but sources put it at up to 120,000 people

Labor conditions were hazardous, but most of the deaths did not come from on-the-job accidents. Instead, thirst, heat, and disease caused by unsanitary conditions killed most workers.

Lung diseases, hepatitis, dysentery, smallpox, and tuberculosis were common killers in the work camps. If that wasn’t bad enough, beginning in 1865, Cholera struck. So many people died that many rotted where they lay as not enough laborers could be found to bury the bodies.