Largest Industrial Accident in US History

in the early morning A cargo ship docked at the Port of Texas City A fire broke out in the warehouse. Spectators gathered to watch the firefighters work and watched strangely colored smoke billow from the ship.

But suddenly the ship and the trackers were blown to bits in one of the world’s largest non-nuclear explosions. This explosion 1947 Texas City Disaster It was the beginning of the chain explosions and fires known as.

At around 08:00 on the morning of April 16, 1947, smoke began to rise from the hold of the cargo ship SS Grandcamp.

This ship, II. was an American ship that served in World War II and was France and other parts of Europe He was carrying aid supplies. That morning the ship was carrying 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate, an important explosive ingredient during the war and now destined to be used as fertilizer.

The captain ordered the hatches to be covered and steam to be supplied to the ship to control the fire. However, this method Instead of extinguishing the fire, it exacerbated it. As onlookers watched the fire from what they thought was a safe distance, the SS Grandcamp suddenly exploded.

The explosion created a shock wave that was felt 402 kilometers away.

The windows of the buildings were broken, the ship’s crew of 40 people, Hundreds of spectators and 28 firefighters died instantly. The explosion threw the steel parts of the ship into the air at supersonic speed and the 2-ton anchor was blown away.

huge explosion, caused fires in other ships and buildings in the area. caused. Approximately 1,000 buildings were destroyed, including the Monsanto Chemical Plant. The flaming wreckage carried by the SS Grandcamp rained down on other ships and dock buildings, starting fires everywhere.

The disaster, from the first explosion 16 hours later, the ship named SS High Flyer exploded. continued. This ship was also carrying ammonium nitrate and sulfur. Firefighters tried to extinguish the fire on the ship but were unsuccessful.

When the fire reaches the ship’s cargo, SS High Flyer also destroyed in a massive explosion And a new one was added to the destruction and deaths.

So what was the reason?

SS Grandcamp’teki It is still unknown how the fire started. However, it is thought that ammonium nitrate was stored at high temperatures and therefore chemical activity may have increased. It is thought that the steam used to extinguish the fire also aggravated the explosion.

Some officials The fire was caused by a cigarette butt he thinks. It is stated that the butt started burning in the cargo area during the night, causing smoke in the morning.

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