VIOLENT EXPLOSIONS IN ARSENAL

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LVII, Issue 10018, 6 March 1929, Page 3

VIOLENT EXPLOSIONS IN ARSENAL

RESIDENTS OF WOOLWICH ALARMED TWENTY-TWO CASUALTIES. London, March 4 Six violent explosions shook Woolwich Arsenal and neignbourhood to-day, the sound ot them being heard tor miles around. A series of minor reports extending over a period of an hour and u-half followed an outbreak of fire in the fuse factory at the arsenal. This consisted of six small circular buildings dotted over a considerable area. Four were practically destroyed.

Hundreds of signalling rockets went up in .showers, the pieces falling one and a-half miles away. One rocket broke a window in a shop a mile away. A building a similar) distance away from the arsenal was partially unroofed. Dense volumes of smoke, lit up by roaring flames, alarmed the residents of Woolwich, hundreds of whom rushed to the gates of the arsenal. Immediately the first explosion occurred the employees were ordered to leave. Many of them rushed out in their overalls. Forty-five fire engines were sent to the arsenal in response to district calls, and the firemen strenuously fought the flames for more than two hours trying to prevent them spreading to other danger areas. The hydrants were frozen, and that fact necessitated water being drawn from the Thames. The casualties totalled 22. Most of them consisted of facial injuries. The sufferers received treatment and were then sent to their homes. A British official wireless message says a statement issued by the War Office states that so far as is known work at the arsenal will not be interfered with. The extent of the damage caused by the fire and explosions cannot yet be estimated. A Court of Inquiry has been appointed to investigate the occurrence. ANOTHER DISASTER AT SOFIA ARSENAL. Sofia, March 4 An explosion in the shell-fuse factory at the Sofia arsenal was followed by a fire which spread with terrific rapidity. Twenty-eight persons were killed. Many of those rescued succumbed to burns or to injuries sustained owing to the building collapsing. Twelve people who were extricated from the debris by firemen were dangerously injured. The explosion was due to a workman drying damp powder before an open fire. It ignited the stocks of saltpetre and sulphur. The wooden door to the building burst into flames and barred the exit. This necessitated the breaking of iron bars at the windows before the workers inside could be rescued. Eighteen women were among the dead.