On the afternoon of April 14, 1944, as World War II raged in the far corners of the planet, Mumbai was convulsed by two enormous explosions that sent a deadly shower of fiery metal and gold ingots hurtling down upon the city. An estimated 800 people were killed in the blasts, 231 of them from the dock services and fire brigade.
The explosion occurred on board a British freighter called the Fort Stikine, which had arrived at the docks from Karachi two days earlier. Her cargo was a lethal combination of wartime munitions and peacetime supplies: 1,395 tons of explosives, torpedoes, mines and shells shared the hold with bales of cotton, barrels of oil and timber. The Stikine was also carrying £890,000 of gold bullion in bars in 31 crates.
It isn’t clear what caused a fire to break out on the Stikine, but it spread quickly. Two explosions followed. They were heard far across the suburbs and sensors recorded the tremors as far as Shimla. Thirteen ships around the Stikine were destroyed, as were hundreds of homes in the vicinity of the docks. The Bombay Dock Explosion would be the most powerful blast in the eastern theatre of war, until the Americans dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima.
The tragedy would remain in the memories of residents for decades, and April 14 is still observed as Fire Brigade Day in the city. Every now and then, dredging operations in Mumbai harbour still yield shells and gold bars.
Here is a rare newsreel of the day.
Reading
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1
Cash transfers, caste calculus: What was behind the Mahayuti’s sweep in Maharashtra?
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2
‘The Shudra Rebellion’: Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd studies the vital role of oppressed castes in India
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3
How an Indian monk contributed to the understanding of Buddhism in China
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4
Start the week with a film: Why ‘Kishkindha Kaandam’ is all the rage
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5
A new book shows why the super-rich in India must strive to alleviate poverty and reduce inequality
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6
Did Indian culture recognise an independent field of study called philosophy?
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7
Interview: ‘In Manipur, rational voices on both sides are being silenced’
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8
Gulzar on his daughter Meghna: ‘A piece of sun mingles in my blood, day and night’
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9
Why the imagined opposition between academic and public historians needs to be questioned
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10
Upamanyu Chatterjee’s ‘Lorenzo Searches for the Meaning of Life’ wins the JCB Prize for Literature