 Smoke billowing out of the harbour | |
| Date | 14 April 1944 |
|---|---|
| Time | 16:15 IST (10:45 UTC) |
| Location | Victoria Dock, Bombay, British India |
| Coordinates | 18°57′10″N 72°50′42″E / 18.95278°N 72.84500°E |
| Cause | ship fire |
| Casualties | |
| 800+ dead | |
| 3,000 injured | |
The Bombay explosion (or Bombay docks explosion) occurred on 14 April 1944, in the Victoria Dock of Bombay, British India (now Mumbai, India) when the British freighter SS Fort Stikine caught fire and was destroyed in two giant blasts, scattering debris, sinking surrounding ships and setting fire to the area, killing around 800 to 1,300 people.[1] Some 80,000 people were made homeless[2][3][4] and 71 firemen lost their lives in the aftermath.[5] The ship was carrying a mixed cargo of cotton bales, timber, oil, gold, and ammunition including around 1,400 tons of explosives with an additional 240 tons of torpedoes and weapons.
- ^ "Explosion on cargo ship rocks Bombay, India – Apr 14, 1944". History.com. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- ^ "Has India's contribution to WW2 been ignored?". BBC News. 16 June 2015. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- ^ Bombay Explosion Archived 14 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine A Corporal's War: World War II Adventures of a Royal Engineer, p. 233
- ^ The Day It Rained Gold Bricks and a Horse Ran Headless Archived 14 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine Bombay, Meri Jaan: Writings on Mumbai Page 138
- ^ "That's how Mumbai's fire brigade Rolls". Mumbai Mirror. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2016.