HALIFAX EXPLOSIONS

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 July 1945, Page 5

HALIFAX EXPLOSIONS

NAVAL DEPOT BLAZE SAVING MAIN MAGAZINE ’ NOVA~SCOTIA I _JuIy 18. A series of terrific explosions at the naval armament depot rocked Halifax. Fires and blasts continued into the night. A great sheet of flame appeared to cover one end of the magazine, and flames were shooting up 150 feet. Police advised residents at the northern end of Halifax and the suburb of Dartmouth, across the harbour, to leave their homes, because of the danger from the continuing blasts. Soon after midnight a blast heavier than the others shook the Halifax area, shattering countless windows throughout the city. Naval officers said the flames were steadily creeping towards the main magazine. About 3 a.m. two more explosions occurred, felling two men in the Canadian Press office, five miles away, and waking a woman at St. John (in New Brunswick, 125 miles away). Twelve persons were reported to be injured three hours after the first blast, and it is believed that there are many more; but the Navy has refused to give details of the explosion. . , . A Navy spokesman said that reports from Halifax indicated that the fires were being brought under control and would not reach and explode the main magazine. No large quantities of explosives had been stored at any one place, in order to prevent a repetition of the 1917 tragedy. (In December, 1917, the explosion of a munitions ship in Halifax harbour caused a fire that destroyed a third of th*e city. It killed 1600 people, and destroyed 3000 houses). The Canadian Press reports that small explosions sounded with the rapidity of machine-gun fire and loud blasts reverberated every few minutes. The earth for miles round shuddered under the concussion. Ten thousand people evacuated from the danger area are now staying in the open fields. There was no panic. In the wake of each successive explosion projectiles hurled into the sky, while snowflake rockets —used for illuminating target areas—flowered over the scene amid a thick pall of The Canadian Press said that the first explosion wrecked all the buildings in the magazine area and tore great holes in them. Debris, ammunition boxes, and exploded shells littered the roads. The explosions showered two fire tugs with shells ana debris, and drove them back to the sea. Several ships moored at the magazine jetties are reported to be badly damaged. Wooden jetties were blown into the harbour. Telephone lines in the Sambro area, 2 7 away, were brought down. One road leading from Halifax was lined with cars bumper to bumper, extending for 10 miles, as people sought to flee as far as possible. THOUSANDS EVACUATED.

(Rec. 1 p.m.) HALIFAX, July 19. Dartmouth’s entire civilian population of 17,000 and the residents ol Northern Halifax were evacuated as the fires approached the main-maga-zine, containing 50,000 depth charges. However, the blaze is subsiding, and the main magazine is untouched and appears safe, although explosions ai the depot were continuing at dawn. An unconfirmed report states the blasts started when a barge loading at one magazine caught lire.