A TERRIFIC EXPLOSION

Southland Times, Issue 19634, 30 September 1922, Page 5

A TERRIFIC EXPLOSION

DISASTER IN ITALY HEAVY LOSS OF LIFE. RESULT OF ELECTRICAL STORM. (By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright.) (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association). ROME, September 28. A violent thunderstorm occurred near Spezia. Lightning exploded a powder factory and it is feared many workers perished. A hundred were sent to hospital. A number of buildings over a wide area in the vicinity were also dcstro3 7 cd. Forty dead, including an army marshal, have been recovered. Fort Falconara and the villages of Santerenzo and Pitelli were greatly damaged. DEATHS ESTIMATED AT 200. LONDON, September 28. (Received September 29, 7.45 p.m.) Rome reports that the latest estimate is that 200 were killed in connection with the explosion at. Fort Falconara. One hundred and forty bodies have been recovered at Santerenzo. WIDE AREA OF DEVASTATION. SEVERAL VILLAGES BADLY DAMAGED. RESCUE WORK HAMPERED. ROME, September 29. (Received September 30, 12.40 a.m.) Details from Spezia show that the Falconara explosion was more disastrous than was at first expected. One hundred and forty-four bodies have been recovered in Santerenzo alone. The number of dead in other villages is still unknown. The explosion was due to a short circuit, and not to lightning. Fifteen hundred tons of explosives were affected. The devastation covered a radius of seven miles. The villages of Larici, Pugliala, Telara, Puttello, and Muggiano were badly damaged. Some reports state that hundreds of people lost their lives, but a moderate estimate is 200 killed and 500 injured. Immediately after the flash great flames were seen to leap up, and the whole magazine seemed to go up in one roar. The workers rushed in panic from the fort, but before they reached safety the explosion came. Many were killed by the concussion and others by falling debris, especially women and children, who' were buried when the houses collapsed. Ships in Spezia harbour were tossed about by giant waves. Troops, civilians, and Fascist! volunteered for rescue work, but the darkness and the raging storm hampered them. Wounded were soon arriving in large numbers at Spezia Hospital. An army of rescuers have gone to Santerenzo to assist in clearing away the ruins.