Pause to remember: Texas City Disaster commemoration ceremony * Airing of the annual city commemoration of the April 16, 1947 Texas City Disaster. The event was held on Saturday (4/12/2025) It was 78 years ago at that the explosion of a ship docked in Texas City set of a chain of events that became known as the Texas City Disaster. On the morning of April 16, 1947 the French ship S.S. Grandcamp's cargo of ammonium nitrate caught fire. Unknown to many was that the fire that sent a mesmerizing orange smoke into the air was a fatal incident waiting to happen. As members of the all-volunteer Texas City Fire Department battled the blaze, hundreds of onlookers gathered at or near the docks to watch the firefighting effort. At 9:12 a.m. the ammonium nitrate exploded with a force of 1.134 kilotons of TNT. It set fire to neighboring industrial plants, destroyed houses and business and killed hundreds. Several hours later another cargo ship, the High Flyer, that was carrying ammonium nitrate and had caught fire after the Grandcamp explosion, also exploded. That blast was the most devastating as hundreds of first responders and volunteers were killed in that blast. About 600 people were estimated to have been killed -- many never identified -- and more than 5,000 injured. Almost 8 decades later, many of those who survived the disaster are still around. While their bodies are worn by the years, their memories of that day are as clear as if the explosion was yesterday.

Posted by i45NOW at 2025-04-16 14:44:02 UTC