Halifax, Nova Scotia - The cargo ship, Mont Blanc, carrying military munitions for the War in Europe exploded after colliding with the Norwegian ship Imo in the second largest accidental man man explosion in history. The resulting explosion was equal to around 3 Kilotons, and obliterated an area of two square kilometres from the epicentre, killing nearly 2000 people and injuring a further 9000. The shockwave from the explosion was felt by the Canadian Prime Minister in Charlottetown, 130 miles away.
I did a little digging online and discovered that even more incredible than the explosion itself, were the actions of the people in rescue and recovery operations in the wake of the disaster. As the ship was burning, a tug the Stella Maris pulled in close by to spray her with their fire hose; when the Mont Blanc exploded 19 of her crew of 24, 5 surviving to be washed ashore with the hulk of their boat by the resultant tsunami.
The heroism of Vince Coleman should also be remembered. He was a railway dispatcher at the Richmond railway yards, who heard from a sailor coming up from the docks that a munitions ship in the harbour was on fire and rushed with his colleagues to flee to a safe distance. He realised just in time that several trains were due in to Halifax within the hour and rushed back to the dispatch office to send messages to them to warn them away from the area. Coleman sent this message out shortly before the explosion:
"Stop Trains. Munitions ship on fire. Approaching Pier 6. Goodbye"
His actions saved the lives of 300 people on board the nearest train which was damaged by the blast but no one was injured thanks to the trains distance from Halifax. Vince Coleman himself was killed at his post when the Mont Blanc exploded. Canada remembers him as a hero; in my opinion the rest of the world should know of his sacrifice and bravery.
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