CALAMITY ON RHINE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17894, 23 September 1921, Page 5

CALAMITY ON RHINE.

*? hundeeds killed.

ANfLINE WORKS EXPLOSION

VILLAGE DEVASTATED.

SHOCK LIKE EARTHQUAKE.

RAIN OF METAL DEBRIS.

disaster UNPRECEDENTED. B5 j elefrraph Press Association—Copyright. 'Received 11.5 p.m.) A. and N.Z. LONDON. Sopt. 22. An explosion in the aniline works of the Badisrb<? Aniline and Potash Company at Oppnu. in the Palatinate of Bavaria, four miles from Mannheim, yesterday morninresulted in an enormous death-roll, vari* oasly estirr a :ed at from 700 to over 1000, and destruction to property over a wide area. A couple of detonations in the older part or the work* heralded a disaster nn-pm-et'ented in the history of modem srier.~e. Other txplos-ioas followed, of which tin; first resulted in No. 56 laboratory be in j{ blown into the air. Every house within a radius of eight miles was shaken as though by a violent earthquake. People fled into the streets, many even jumping through windows. F -r hours it was impossible for rescue parties to approach the works to give assistance to the wounded, who lay alongside the dead, many of whom were terribly mangled. Clouds of green smoke enveloped the whole ruins. Even after 12 hours the confusion was so great that it was impossible to get exact information.

Soofs Blown OC Houses. AH accounts agree that hundreds are dead, many being killed a considerable distance from the place of the main disaster. There were heartrending scenes as women and children sought husbands and fathers among the mangled forms as they were taken from the wrecked buildings and laid on the roadsides for identification, or, if stjll alive, left to await omnibuses and motor-cars, which hurried from Ludwiphafen and Mannheim as quickly as the broken Toads would allow them. The hospitals, of Ludwigshafeu, Worms, and Mannheim were quickly filled with maimed workers and others.

Fortunately, it was too early for many j people to be about the neighbouring! towns; otherwise many more would have been injured or killed by falling debris. As it was, many children wisre thrown down by the air pressure and badlv hurt. At Ludwigshafen the entire roof 3of many houses were carried away. All windows were broken in Worms, which is 13 miles away. The roads around Oppan are deep in glass and other debris. One story says that three workers' trains were submerged by falling wreckage. The likeliest explanation of the disaster is given by an. expert of Brumier, Mond and Co., who suggests that a leakage of hydrogen was the probable cause. The Oppau factorj r had been making immense quantity's of synthetic ammonia, composed of nitrogen and hydrogen. During the manufacturing process free hydrogen is formed, and if it escapes and mixes with air a highly explosive gas is formed. Shock Like an Earthquake. The Berlin correspondent of the Daily Telegraph reports that the explosion is btlieved to have caused 700 deaths. Very aaany more were injured. Terrific detonations in rapid succession startled the district, which is thickly populated The earth shook violently, houses were unroofed. and articles such as typewriters w»r© hurled into the air. Masses of metal weighing hundreds of pounds were thrown hundreds of yards. The detonations were felt in Heidelberg ar.d windows were broken in Frankfort, 2>7 miles distance, where the electric trams were interrupted. The ftremeu and police of the district, equipped with gas masks, are assisting French troops in the work of rescue, but raging fires prevent approach to main buildings.

A correspondent of the Daily Chronicle at Mannheim telegraphs that, just- after the morning work commenced at the factory there was a fearful explosion in the nitrogen department, believed to have been caused by the explosion of a gas compressor. The population of the district, believing that an earthquake had occurred, poured into the streets in a pinic. Dense clouds of smoke floated over the spot where the works were, and for some time it was impossible to approach the buildings. All sorts of reports regarding the death-roll are in circulation. Tho general idea is that at least 1000 were killed, but the authorities beg the r<eoplo iM*t to accept that estimate until the debris is thoroughly examined. Over 1000 Dead Reported. According to reports, received in Paris, the explosion took place at half-past seven o'clock in the morning. All the telephones and telegraph*; in the district were destroyed. There was much damage and apparently some loss of life at Ludwigshafen, on the left bank of the Rhine opposite Mannheim, though details are .ery difficult to obtain. Reports suggest that the village of Oppau was completely destroyed. The inhabitants who were not killed or desperately injured are panicstricken with horror, and iear further explosions. Wiud jws and doors were smashed over a wide area. The Paris correspondent of the Central News Agency states that the night shift had just, been relieved by day workers when the explosion occurred. So violent ■»aa it that all windows were broken in Mannheim, and as far away as Worms. Large pieces of metal and material rained down in Mannheim, killing one person and injuring -55, many seriously. Oppau was toteJJv wrcked. It is reported that over- 1000 are dead and thousands are mjur*d. The French Commissioner in the Khii a district is organising relief Wurk. Oppau is situated within the trench Eor;e of .j-cupatiou. The Badische Aniline and Potiah I ompany is connected with the Aniliie Coii->ortium, which hat- a capital (f 2000 million marks. During the aar Oppau was the principal centre for the manufacture of asphyxiating gas.