Halifax Explosion

The Halifax Explosion occurred on 6 December 1917 when the French munitions ship Mont-Blanc, loaded with TNT, picric acid, and benzol, collided with the Norwegian relief ship Imo in the Narrows of Halifax Harbour, caught fire, and detonated. The blast killed about 1,800 people, injured 9,000, and flattened much of the city’s north end; it was the largest accidental human-made explosion before the atomic bomb. The disaster reshaped harbor traffic regulation and dangerous-goods handling and remains a landmark maritime catastrophe.