Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Messages
- 8,994
It Rains Gold and Death at Bombay...
On April 12, 1944, the British freighter "Fort Stikine"...
... arrives in the port of Bombay (today Mumbai).
The cargo of the "Fort Stikine", which comes from Birkenhead (UK) and is under way on behalf of the War Shipping Administration/Maritime Commission, consists of a highly dangerous mixture of explosives and ammunition, Supermarine Spitfire fighter planes, cotton bales, oil in barrels, wood , scrap iron and 124 12.73kg bars of gold valued at between £1m and £2m at the time.
Two days later, on April 14, 1944, the ship has still not been unloaded (or at least the explosives have not been taken off board), a fire broke out in the aft hold for reasons that are still unknown.
The cloud of smoke can be seen clearly in the following picture..:
At around 2 p.m., the crew became aware of the fire and began fighting the fire together with the port fire brigade and fire boats.
After around 900 tons of fire-fighting water had been pumped into the ship without being able to contain the fire, the order to abandon ship was given at 3:50 p.m.
Not a moment too soon!
Exactly sixteen minutes later, the "Fort Stikine" exploded in a massive detonation, breaking in two.
The detonation shattered panes of glass within a 12-mile radius and could even be recorded by seismographs in distant locations.
The area around the explosion site was set on fire within a radius of around 800 meters, eleven ships in the harbor sink due to the explosion.
The ships that don't sink are thrown around the harbor like toys by the detonation, as the following "before and after" sketch shows...:
The fire at Bombay lasts three days and, according to official figures, kills 740 people and injures around 1,800 (unofficial estimates assume far higher numbers)...:
27 ships are sunk or severely damaged in Victoria Dock and neighboring Prince's Dock.
After the fire has been extinguished, around 8,000 rescue workers need seven months to remove around half a million tons of rubble...:
Up until the 1970s, gold bars from the gold cargo of "Fort Stikine", which was literally scattered to the winds, were repeatedly found in the port area.
A simple memorial reminds of the catastrophe today - it is part of the bronze propeller of the exploded freighter - it was found eleven kilometers from the scene of the accident...
On April 12, 1944, the British freighter "Fort Stikine"...
... arrives in the port of Bombay (today Mumbai).
The cargo of the "Fort Stikine", which comes from Birkenhead (UK) and is under way on behalf of the War Shipping Administration/Maritime Commission, consists of a highly dangerous mixture of explosives and ammunition, Supermarine Spitfire fighter planes, cotton bales, oil in barrels, wood , scrap iron and 124 12.73kg bars of gold valued at between £1m and £2m at the time.
Two days later, on April 14, 1944, the ship has still not been unloaded (or at least the explosives have not been taken off board), a fire broke out in the aft hold for reasons that are still unknown.
The cloud of smoke can be seen clearly in the following picture..:
At around 2 p.m., the crew became aware of the fire and began fighting the fire together with the port fire brigade and fire boats.
After around 900 tons of fire-fighting water had been pumped into the ship without being able to contain the fire, the order to abandon ship was given at 3:50 p.m.
Not a moment too soon!
Exactly sixteen minutes later, the "Fort Stikine" exploded in a massive detonation, breaking in two.
The detonation shattered panes of glass within a 12-mile radius and could even be recorded by seismographs in distant locations.
The area around the explosion site was set on fire within a radius of around 800 meters, eleven ships in the harbor sink due to the explosion.
The ships that don't sink are thrown around the harbor like toys by the detonation, as the following "before and after" sketch shows...:
The fire at Bombay lasts three days and, according to official figures, kills 740 people and injures around 1,800 (unofficial estimates assume far higher numbers)...:
27 ships are sunk or severely damaged in Victoria Dock and neighboring Prince's Dock.
After the fire has been extinguished, around 8,000 rescue workers need seven months to remove around half a million tons of rubble...:
Up until the 1970s, gold bars from the gold cargo of "Fort Stikine", which was literally scattered to the winds, were repeatedly found in the port area.
A simple memorial reminds of the catastrophe today - it is part of the bronze propeller of the exploded freighter - it was found eleven kilometers from the scene of the accident...
