List of the largest man-made, non-nuclear explosions

The list of the largest man-made non-nuclear explosions is a compilation of the largest conventional explosions that have been caused by human hands. Essentially, these are accidents, war-related events, purpose-built demolitions (e.g. removal of obstacles) and tests. The TNT equivalent is only calculated if the information available allows an exact determination.

list

Editorial order by date - most recent last

event	time	place	root cause	description	TNT equivalent [t]	Number of victims	image	swell
Explosion in the Castle Palace , Buda Castle	May 18, 1578	Budapest ( Kingdom of Hungary )	lightning strike	Explosion in the powder chamber, palace largely destroyed	unknown	2000 dead
Delft clap of thunder	October 12, 1654	Delft ( Netherlands )	accident	Around 40 t of black powder in a powder tower exploded, presumably due to carelessness (flying sparks), around 500 houses were destroyed, and an estimated 1200 people were killed.	10 t	1200 dead
Explosion in Belgrade	August 14, 1717	Belgrade ( Serbia )	war	A direct hit by the Belgrade mortar into a Turkish powder magazine during the siege of Belgrade in 1717, 3000 defending Turks lost their lives in one fell swoop.	unknown	3000 dead
Explosion of the powder store of the city of Graz	July 10, 1723	Gösting Castle , Graz , Austria	lightning strike	Gunpowder, in ruins since then	unknown	not known
Explosion of one of the powder towers in Bremen	September 22, 1739	Bremen ( Germany )	lightning strike	A lightning strike caused the kennel, which served as a powder tower, to explode, and the ensuing conflagration destroyed large parts of the city.	unknown	32 dead
Explosion at the Great Depot	June 21, 1753	Moldautein ( Czech Republic )	accident	Gunpowder explosion in preparation for a maneuver on the occasion of a visit by Maria Theresa. There were 80 dead and 40 seriously injured.	unknown	80 dead 40 seriously injured
Powder factory explosion	August 31, 1794	Grenelle , today Paris ( France )	accident	Explosion of 150 tons of gunpowder	unknown	536 dead 827 injured
Explosion of a powder ship in Leiden	January 12, 1807	Leiden ( Netherlands )	accident	A ship loaded with 17,760 kilograms of gunpowder exploded in the middle of the city. 151 people were killed, over 2000 injured and around 220 houses destroyed. The Van der Werfpark was built on the open space .	4.44 t	151 dead 2000 injured
Gunpowder explosion in Eisenach	0September 1, 1810	Eisenach ( Germany )	accident	A French ammunition transport with gunpowder exploded in the old town of Eisenach. There were 70 dead and several hundred injured, and 24 buildings were destroyed.	unknown	70 dead
Explosion of the powder tower in Mainz	November 18, 1857	Mainz ( Germany )	unknown, presumably assassination attempt	200 quintals of explosives and 600 flares exploded in the powder tower in Mainz. At least 153 people died and hundreds were injured. 57 houses were completely destroyed and 64 badly damaged. The cause of the explosion, which was suspected to be an act of revenge by an Austrian corporal, could not be clarified.	unknown	> 153 dead
Blowing up the Flood Rock	October 10, 1885	New York City New York ( USA )	Water expansion	With 136 tonnes of dynamite blew up the United States Army Corps of Engineers to Flood skirt , a shoal in Hellgate , a dangerous section of the East River . A 45 m high water column was created. At this point in time, this was the largest design explosion that was wanted.	108.9 t	no victims
Nanaimo mine disaster	0May 3, 1887	Nanaimo British Columbia ( Canada )	accident	Careless handling of explosives resulted in the shafts of coal mine No. 1 in Nanaimo to a severe explosion that killed around 150 miners. Only seven pals survived.	unknown	150 dead
Direct hit in the ammunition chamber at Fort Loncin	August 15, 1914	Liège Fortress Ring ( Belgium )	war	In August 1914, after the conquest of Liège, the Dicke Bertha (heaviest siege artillery with a caliber of 420 mm, manufactured by Krupp) was brought in. About 350 dead Belgian soldiers.	unknown	350 dead
Explosion of the Dix-huit Ponts ammunition depot	January 11, 1916	Lille ( France )	unknown	For reasons unknown to this day, the powder stored there exploded. The crater was 30 m deep and 150 m in diameter. Two large and massive industrial buildings shield part of the city from the shock wave; Nevertheless, window panes break within dozens of kilometers. In the middle of the Netherlands the shock was thought to be an earthquake.	unknown	104 dead, 400 injured
The Lochnagar Crater was blown up	0July 1, 1916	La Boisselle Somme department ( France )	war	British units had placed 26.8 t of ammonal explosives in the underground mine under the German lines ( mine warfare ) and detonated them on the first day of the Battle of the Somme . The bang could be heard even in London, earth and debris were thrown up to 1200 m into the air. The Lochnagar crater is the largest crater from the First World War with a diameter of 91 m and a depth of 21 m.	13.4 t	unknown
Black Tom Explosion	July 30, 1916	Jersey City New Jersey ( USA )	sabotage	Explosives attack by German agents to prevent the shipment of ammunition from the still neutral USA to Europe. The explosion of 1,000 tons of ammunition killed up to seven people and damaged the Statue of Liberty .	unknown	7 dead
Explosion of the Choisy Redoubt	September 14, 1916	Saarlouis (Germany)	accident	Explosion of an ammunition dump in the train barracks; the cause is still unclear. Presumably around 30,000 Belgian prey grenades stored for raw material extraction exploded through no human fault, with an adjacent warehouse with 70,000 detonators and 400 HE shells also exploding. Monuments were erected at the site of the accident (former ring battery of the Redoute Choisy, today between the sports facility of the Max Planck Gymnasium and the dog sports facility at the gas works) and on the old cemetery .	unknown	96 dead > 100 injured
Explosion accident in Cologne- Flittard	January 27, 1917	Bayer explosives plant Cologne-Flittard ( Germany )	accident	Explosion in an armaments factory. A frozen TNT line on a grenade filling system should be opened with a brass pin and hammer. Several explosions caused damage to structures within a 30 km radius and completely destroyed the production facility.	60 t	8 dead, hundreds injured
Direct hit in an ammunition depot with 45,000 shells near Vendresse	0April 5, 1917	Vendresse Département Aisne ( France )	war	A long-range German railway gun could fire a projectile into an ammunition store that had been built for the Nivelle offensive . The shock and the crack of the impact were perceived up to 40 kilometers behind the front. The direct hit led to fires and explosions that raged for a day.	unknown	approx. 50 dead approx. 100 seriously injured
Explosion accident in Detmold	May 31, 1917	Detmold ( Germany )	accident	Explosion of a munitions factory in a residential area. 72 workers died.	unknown	72 dead
Mine explosions in the Battle of Messines	0June 7, 1917	Messines ( Belgium )	war	During the trench warfare, British soldiers detonated around 450 tons of ammonal in mine shafts under the German positions. Presumably about 6000 German soldiers died.	225 t	6000 dead
Explosion of the battleship HMS Vanguard	0July 9, 1917	Scapa Flow ( United Kingdom )	accident	An ammunition chamber explosion destroyed the battleship, killing 843 people.	unknown	843 dead
Halifax explosion	0December 6, 1917	Halifax Nova Scotia ( Canada )	accident	Approximately 2300 t of picric acid , 63 t of gun cotton and 200 t of TNT exploded after a collision between the French ammunition freighter Mont Blanc and the Norwegian four-masted steamship Imo . Large parts of the city were destroyed.	2960 t	1946 dead
Rübeland explosion accident	January 10, 1918	Rübeland in the Harz Mountains ( Germany )	accident	9 people seriously injured, 30–40 lightly and 14 dead - among those killed was the painter Käthe Evers .	unknown	14 dead
Mine explosion on Monte Pasubio	March 18, 1918	Monte Pasubio between the provinces of Vicenza and Trento ( Italy )	war	During the mountain war of 1915–1918 , Austro-Hungarian soldiers detonated a mine made of 50 tons of explosives under the Italian plate of Monte Pasubio, which destroyed parts of the plate - the largest mine explosion of the First World War .	unknown	about 40 dead
Explosion of the battleship Kawachi	July 12, 1918	Tokuyama Bay Yamaguchi ( Japan )	accident	The ammunition chamber of the Japanese battleship Kawachi exploded as a result of cordite spontaneously igniting . Creation of a 200 m high jet flame; the ship sank in just four minutes. 621 of 1059 crew members were killed.	unknown	621 dead
Hamont railway accident	November 18, 1918	Hamont ( Belgium )	accident	In Hamont train station, two German ammunition trains explode in close proximity to three German hospital trains. More than 1000 dead, mostly German soldiers. Parts of the city were destroyed.	unknown	1000 dead
Ammunition train explosion at Munsterlager	October 24, 1919	Lower Saxony ( Germany )	accident	A train loaded with warfare agents and munitions exploded. Almost the entire system was destroyed. 1000 tons of war gas, around 1 million gas grenades, 1 million detonators and cartridges, 230,000 mines, 40 tank cars with war gas exploded. The warfare agent grenades were hurled through the area for kilometers, poison clouds threatened the surrounding villages, some of which had to be evacuated. Many houses in the area were badly damaged. In addition to the direct victims of the explosion, there were many other deaths in the months that followed.	unknown	unknown
Explosion of the Oppau nitrogen works	September 21, 1921	Ludwigshafen-Oppau ( Germany )	accident	Around 400 t of ammonium sulphate nitrate exploded. 559 people died and 1977 were injured. The resulting crater had a length of 165 m, a width of 95 m and a depth of 18.5 m.	<1000 t	559 dead		(see article )
New London School	March 18, 1937	New London Texas ( USA )	accident	Gas explosion in a school building. 295 dead. Since the accident, gas is a warning with world methanethiol odorized , because natural gas alone is almost odorless.	unknown	295 dead
Ammunition explosion in Smederevo	0June 5, 1941	Smederevo ( Serbia )	unknown, probably accident	A German ammunition dump in the local fortress exploded. Parts of the city were destroyed, including the train station. Effects of the explosion were felt 10 km away.	unknown	2500 dead 5500 injured
SS Surrey	June 10, 1942	Caribbean , northeast of the Panama Canal ( Panama )	war	Northeast of the Panama Canal, the German submarine U 68 sinks the British freighter SS Surrey , which is loaded with 2,600 tons of ammunition, by three torpedo hits. About 20 minutes after the sinking, there is a huge underwater explosion that lifts the submarine out of the water and damages it badly. No one was harmed by the explosion itself, but 12 crew members died when the freighter was torpedoed.	unknown	12 dead
Explosion of the battleship Mutsu	0June 8, 1943	Suō-Ōshima Yamaguchi ( Japan )	accident	Explosion in the aft magazine of the main guns of the battleship Mutsu , 1121 people, including the commander and some visitors, were killed	unknown	1121 dead
Bombay disaster	April 14, 1944	Mumbai ( India )	Accident (fire)	Around 1500 t of explosives and ammunition, including 300 t of TNT , exploded on board the freighter Fort Stikine in the port of Bombay (now Mumbai ) due to a fire on board. As a result, there was a conflagration in Bombay. The last fires were only put out after four days. Up to 1,500 people died and 3,000 were injured. 13 ships were destroyed, the total damage was about 1 billion US dollars.	> 300 t	1,500 dead, 3,000 injured
SS Paul Hamilton	April 20, 1944	Mediterranean Sea , north of Algiers ( Algeria )	war	A German torpedo bomber sank the American ammunition and troop transport SS Paul Hamilton north of Algiers. The torpedo hit caused the cargo, 1600 tons of ammunition and bombs, to explode. A 400 m high flame was created and debris was hurled two kilometers. All 580 people on board the ship, mostly soldiers, were killed.	unknown	580 dead
Munitions explosion in mountains	April 20, 1944	Bergen ( Norway )	accident	The Dutch freighter Voorbode , which was in German service and loaded with 126 t of ammunition, exploded in the port of Bergen . The explosion caused severe damage throughout the city, leaving 5,000 people homeless. Nine other ships in the port were sunk or badly damaged. The disaster claimed 150 lives and more than 600 injured.	unknown	150 dead 600 injured
Port Chicago Disaster	July 17, 1944	Port Chicago California ( USA )	accident	Around 5000 t of ammunition and explosives exploded when it was loaded onto the EA Bryan cargo ship . The cause was probably carelessness in handling a torpedo . 320 people died, including 202 African American load soldiers. When the surviving loader soldiers refused to resume their dangerous work after the disaster, a mutiny that had become famous broke out .	unknown	320 dead
Gas and tank farm explosion in Cleveland, Ohio	October 20, 1944	Cleveland Ohio ( USA )	accident	Explosion of leaked natural gas in the urban sewer system, followed by a tank farm explosion. More than 300 dead.	unknown	300 dead
USS Mount Hood	November 10, 1944	Manus ( Admiralty Islands , now Papua New Guinea )	unknown	In the port of the island of Manus, 3800 t of ammunition on board the ammunition transporter USS Mount Hood exploded for unknown reasons . 13 smaller port vehicles sank, 35 other ships were damaged. 432 people were killed.	unknown	432 dead
Explosion in the RAF ammunition depot in Fauld	November 27, 1944	Fauld , now: Fauld Crater, Hanbury, Tutbury, (5 km NW of :) Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire ( United Kingdom )	accident	Around 3500 tons of bombs and 500 million rounds of rifle ammunition exploded in the RAF ammunition dump in Fauld. The cause was probably an improper handling of bomb detonators. A crater over 200 m long and 90 m deep was created, a 450,000 m³ water reservoir flowed out, 75 to 90 people were killed. 200 head of cattle died. It was the largest explosion in Britain to date. Entry into the crater is prohibited due to bombs still being spilled.	2600 t	75 dead
Prepare for the Trinity test	0May 7, 1945	White Sands Missile Range New Mexico ( USA )	test	In preparation for the actual nuclear weapon test , 100 tons of TNT are blown up in order to calibrate the measuring devices.	100 t	no victims
Flensburg, Kielseng	June 14, 1945	Flensburg ( Germany )	accident	A mistake was made when the new evacuation workers were instructed for the ammunition collection point at the submarine base near Kielseng, and a hand grenade was activated. The first explosion in one of the camp barracks led to a chain of more ammunition explosions. A pressure wave destroyed the north wall of the city ​​storage facility designed by the architect Paul Ziegler. The Danube , a German submarine escort ship, was badly damaged and capsized, the German submarine escort ship Otto Wünsche severely damaged, trees were uprooted and roofs torn away. Some windows of the Marienkirche and several of the St. Jürgenkirche broke. Windows shattered in the city as far as Husby.	unknown	about 60 dead
MUNA Feucht (US Army)	0May 4, 1946	Feucht ( Germany )	accident	A fire that got out of hand at the Ammo Collection Point Feucht detonates 20–30,000 t of prey ammunition, including a parked freight train with 300 V2 warheads; at least 225 t of Amatol turn over and destroy 50 buildings, some of which are bunkered, and the track systems.	180 t	no victims
Dailly explosion accident	May 28, 1946	Saint-Maurice ( Switzerland )	accident	Around 450 tons of artillery ammunition explode in the fortress Dailly above Saint-Maurice	450 t	10 dead
Explosion accident in Hänigsen	June 18, 1946 from 10:15 a.m.	Hänigsen ( Germany )	unknown, probably accident	During salvage and dismantling work on ammunition that was stored together with chemical warfare agents in the Riedel potash salt mine near the Hänigsen army ammunition facility in various chambers at a depth of 500–700 m, a series of severe underground explosions with ejections through the shaft occurs. 82 men die underground, 1 falls from the winding tower, 3 suffocate from gases during rescue work.	approx. 11,000 t	86 dead
Texas City Explosion	April 16, 1947	Texas City Texas ( USA )	Accident (fire)	Approximately 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded on board the freighter SS Grandcamp in the port of Texas City. Before that, a fire developed on board for unexplained reasons. 15 hours later, the freighter SS High Flyer loaded with 900 t of ammonium nitrate also exploded at the pier. 581 people died. The Monsanto chemical plant was also affected.	1150 t	581 dead
Bunker systems on Heligoland are blown up	April 18, 1947	Helgoland ( Germany )	demolition	British pioneers detonated around 6,700 tons of different explosives in order to destroy German bunkers on the island. Largest non-nuclear explosion at this point.	3200 t	no victims
Explosion of an ammunition depot in Mitholz	December 19, 1947	Kandergrund ( Switzerland )	accident	On the night of December 19-20, 3,000 t of ammunition exploded in an ammunition store in Mitholz near Kandergrund. Nine people died. The damage was 100 million SFr. figured. - In order to clear an estimated 3500 t of ammunition, the site is to be evacuated for 10 years in 2031.	3000 t	9 dead
Tank car explosion at BASF	July 28, 1948	Ludwigshafen am Rhein ( Germany )	accident	Explosion of a tank car filled with approx. 30 t of dimethyl ether . 207 people died as a result of the disaster, there were 3818 injuries, and 3122 buildings were seriously affected. The property damage at BASF alone amounted to DM 80 million.	unknown	207 dead 3,818 injured
Explosion disaster in Prüm	July 15, 1949	Prüm ( Germany )	unknown	500 tons of explosives, with which parts of the west wall were to be blown up, exploded in a mountain tunnel. 12 people died and 15 were injured.	500 t	12 dead, 15 injured
Tank farm explosion near Niederstedem	September 23, 1954	Niederstedem ( Germany )	unknown	Explosion of a NATO tank farm near Bitburg Air Base	unknown	29 dead
Cali explosion in 1956	07th August 1956	Cali , Valle del Cauca ( Colombia )	accident	In Cali, seven parked trucks that were loaded with about 42 tons of dynamite for road construction exploded. A crater 50 meters in diameter and eight meters deep was created. The explosion triggered a 4.3 magnitude earthquake. Countless people were left homeless, around 1,300 people died and up to 12,000 were injured.	32 t	1,300 dead, 12,000 injured
Blowing up the Ripple Rock	0April 5, 1958	off Vancouver Island British Columbia ( Canada )	Water expansion	With 1270 t Nitramex eleven meters (height) of a hilltop of an underwater rock were blasted, which formed a dangerous shoal off the coast of Canada.	635 t	no victims
Nedelin disaster	October 24, 1960	Baikonur Kazakhstan ( USSR )	accident	124 tons of rocket fuel ( UDMH and nitric acid ) exploded when an R-16 rocket broke on the launch site. 126 people were killed. Named after Mitrofan Nedelin , chief marshal of the artillery.	unknown	126 dead
Construction of the Medeo dam	April 14, 1967	Medeo , Almaty Kazakhstan ( USSR )	scheduled construction work	During the construction of the Medeo dam, which is supposed to protect Almaty from mudslides , 3900 tons of ammonium nitrate are exploded as part of a final construction measure , which creates the necessary debris.	1950 t	no victims
Railway accident in Langenweddingen	0July 6, 1967	Langenweddingen ( GDR , now Germany )	accident	A tanker truck loaded with 15,000 liters of gasoline is hit by a passenger train and subsequently explodes. 94 people are killed.	unknown	94 dead
Explosion in an explosives factory ( Schweizerische Sprengstofffabrik , today Dottikon ES Holding )	0April 8, 1969	Dottikon (Switzerland)	accident	A TNT / dinitrotoluene mixture explodes; 18 dead, 30 injured	unknown	18 dead 108 injured
Ammunition explosion in the Linden railway accident	June 22, 1969	Hannover-Linden train station (Germany)	accident	The fire of a freight wagon caused the ammunition loaded in it to explode	unknown	12 dead 30 injured
Explosion of an N1 missile	03rd July 1969	Baikonur Kazakhstan ( USSR )	accident	Due to a technical defect, a Soviet N1 lunar rocket fell back onto the launch pad shortly after taking off and broke. 2,600 tons of rocket fuel exploded. The entire launch pad was destroyed.	unknown	no victims
Explosion in chemical factory	July 19, 1974	Záluží ( Czechoslovakia , now the Czech Republic )	accident	The alcohol production plant of the ZZR chemical plant of CHZ ČSSP explodes due to a leak in a gas pipe. 17 people are killed.	unknown	17 dead, 112 injured
Missile disaster in Dannenwalde	August 14, 1977	Gransee ( GDR , now Germany )	lightning strike	A lightning strike caused an explosion in an ammunition dump, detonating hundreds of Katyusha rockets and falling in the vicinity.	unknown	unknown
Los Alfaques tanker truck accident	July 11, 1978	Alcanar ( Spain )	accident	A tanker truck loaded with 23 tons of propene burst in the area of ​​the Los Alfaques campsite ; the liquid gas exploded.	unknown	217 dead > 300 injured
Explosion of the Spyros tanker , Singapore	October 12, 1978	Jurong Shipyard ( Singapore )	accident	The tanker S.T. Spyros explodes in a dock during repairs. 76 dead, 69 injured.	unknown	76 dead 69 injured
Explosion of the Betelgeuse tanker , Ireland	0January 8, 1979	Whiddy Island ( Ireland )	accident	The tanker Betelgeuse explodes at the terminal. 51 dead.	unknown	51 dead
Flour dust explosion in the Rolandmühle	0February 6, 1979	Bremen ( Germany )	accident	A cable fire leads to a huge flour dust explosion in the Rolandmühle in Bremen . 17 people die and there is property damage of 112 million euros.	unknown	17 dead
Gas explosion in the round PKO building, Warsaw	15th February 1979	Warsaw ( Poland )	accident	Gas explosion in the round PKO building in Warsaw . 70 percent of the building is destroyed. 49 dead, 110 injured.	unknown	49 dead 110 injured
Gas explosion in Ortuella	October 23, 1980	Ortuella ( Spain )	accident	Gas explosion in a school in Ortuella, Spain. 49 dead.	unknown	49 dead
Danaciobasi tank farm explosion	November 24, 1980	Danaciobasi ( Turkey )	unknown	Explosion of a tank farm. 105 dead.	unknown	105 dead
Pipeline explosion in Siberia	0June 1, 1982	Siberia ( Soviet Union )	Sabotage by the CIA	Explosion of a gas pipeline	3000-4000 t	no dead
Tank explosion in Tacoa	December 19, 1982	Tacoa ( Venezuela )	unknown	Explosion of a fuel tank on a power plant site. More than 150 dead.	unknown	150 dead
Northern Fleet	17th May 1984	Okolnaya or Severomorsk ( Soviet Union )	unknown	Northern Fleet ammunition depot exploded	unknown	2 dead officially
San Juanico disaster	November 19, 1984	San Juanico , Mexico City ( Mexico )	accident	A liquid gas tank exploded as a result of a burst pipe. Twelve more tanks were gradually exploded ( BLEVE ) by the heat . A total of around 12,000 m³ of liquefied gas was burned. 600 people died and it is estimated that more than 7,000 were injured. San Juanico was largely destroyed. In terms of the number of victims, the disaster is one of the worst industrial accidents of all time.	unknown	600 dead, 7000 injured
Gas explosion in Tbilisi	02nd December 1984	Tbilisi Georgia ( USSR )	unknown	Gas explosion in a residential building in Tbilisi. More than 100 dead.	unknown	100 dead
Minor scale	June 27, 1985	White Sands Missile Range New Mexico ( USA )	test	4744 t of ANFO were detonated to simulate the explosion of a nuclear weapon.	3795 t	no victims
Misty picture	May 14, 1987	White Sands Missile Range New Mexico ( USA )	test	4675 t of ANFO were detonated to simulate the explosion of a nuclear weapon.	3740 t	no victims
Tanker truck accident in Herborn	0July 7, 1987	Herborn Hessen ( Germany )	accident	Accident of a tanker truck in downtown Herborn; Explosions and fires from leaking gasoline wreaked havoc in the city.	roughly 15 t	6 dead, 38 injured
Chemical accident at PEPCON	0May 4, 1988	near Henderson (Nevada) Nevada ( USA )	accident	4000 tons of ammonium perchlorate exploded in a fuel factory. The area was cleared in time before it was completely destroyed by two huge explosions. Two people died.	250 t	2 dead
Arzamas railway accident	04th June 1988	Arsamas Russia ( USSR )	accident	Explosion of a freight train in which three wagons with 120 tons of the explosive hexogen and numerous wagons with petroleum products were set. 151 houses and two hospitals were destroyed, 823 families were left homeless .	180 t	91 dead 1500 injured
Sverdlovsk railway accident ( ru: Взрыв на станции Свердловск-Сортировочный )	04th October 1988	Sverdlovsk Russia ( USSR )	accident	Explosion of wagons loaded with explosives at the Sverdlovsk train station.	unknown	4 dead
Railway accident at Ufa	0June 4th 1989	Ufa Russia ( USSR )	accident	Liquefied gas - pipeline accident: the escaping gas from a burst pipe collected in a depression and ignited by flying sparks. 575 people died in two nearby Trans-Siberian trains .	1000 t	575 dead
1992 Guadalajara disaster	April 22, 1992	Guadalajara ( Mexico )	accident	Gasoline that leaked from an underground pipe collected in the sewer system for days and formed an explosive gas mixture there. Maintenance work eventually led to several explosions that destroyed an entire district. At least 206 people died and 15,000 were left homeless.	unknown	206 dead
Explosion accident on the Steingletscher	02nd November 1992	Susten Pass ( Switzerland )	accident	In a cavern on the Steinalp , an ammunition explosion stand of the Swiss army , exploded from 225 to 840 tonnes of ammunition and 279 solid rocket boosters of Bristol Bloodhound - aircraft missiles . The explosion destroyed the storage cavern and left a cone of rubble with a volume of one million cubic meters. The cause of the explosion could never be clarified.	225 t	6 dead
Blast at Zhuhai Airport	December 29, 1992	25 km southwest of Zhuhai near Jinwan ⊙	scheduled demolition	To expand the airport, 12,000 tons of dynamite were detonated inside the Paotai mountain. The explosion is thus the largest artificial, non-nuclear explosion. It caused a shock of at least 3.4 on the Richter scale. The explosion was also clearly felt in Macau (20 km), Zhuhai (25 km) and Hong Kong (50 km away).	9600 t	no victims
Tanker truck explosion in Chennai	March 12, 1995	Chennai ( India )	unknown	Explosion of a tanker truck in Chennai, India. 110 dead.	unknown	110 dead
Explosion in a motorway service station	June 18, 1995	Eynatten ( Belgium )	accident	"Explosion of a gas tank" in a restaurant or "Explosion of the restaurant" and fire next to a Fina gas station	unknown	16 dead, 3 seriously injured
Explosion of the fireworks factory in Enschede	May 13, 2000	Enschede ( Netherlands )	accident	177 t of fireworks ignited for unknown reasons. 22 people died in the explosion and 1,250 were left homeless.	unknown	22 dead
Explosion in Toulouse	September 21, 2001	Toulouse ( France )	accident	In a fertilizer factory belonging to TotalFinaElf, between 300 and 400 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded for reasons that are not clear . The explosion left 29 dead and 782 injured. The damage is estimated at over 1.5 billion euros.	> 126 t	29 dead, 782 injured
Ikeja disaster	January 27, 2002	Ikeja ( Nigeria )	accident	Explosion of an ammunition depot with around 700 dead	unknown	700 dead
Chuandongbei gas explosion	December 25, 2003	Gaoqiao ( China )	accident	Explosion at a conveyor system for natural gas rich in hydrogen sulfide . 191 people died as a result of the gases escaping. 4000 to 5000 suffered chemical burns.	unknown	191 dead, 4000 injured
Ryongchon train accident	April 22, 2004	Ryongchŏn ( North Korea )	accident	Explosion of two wagons loaded with ammonium nitrate . After a maneuvering error, a wagon collided with a power pole and knocked it over. The overhead line ignited the cargo. At least 161 people died, possibly more.	unknown	≥ 161 deaths
Gas explosion in Ghislenghien	July 30, 2004	Ghislenghien ( Belgium )	accident	A Fluxys natural gas pipeline was damaged during construction work . The escaping gas ignited and caused several serious explosions.	unknown	24 dead 132 injured
Fireworks factory explosion at Seest	0November 3, 2004	Kolding ( Denmark )	accident	Explosion of almost 300 t of fireworks due to an accident in the NP Johnsen's Fyrværkerifabrik in Seest , a suburb of Kolding. A firefighter was killed and around 80 people were injured. Over 2000 houses were damaged. The damage is estimated at over 120 million euros.	unknown	1 dead 80 injured
Ammunition explosion in Gërdec	March 15, 2008	Gërdec ( Albania )	accident	Over 1000 tons of ammunition exploded in an ammunition store. 26 people died and over 300 were injured. In the camp, ammunition was dismantled by poorly trained personnel. Probably due to carelessness, explosives lying around ignited. This started a chain reaction of explosions.	unknown	26 dead, 300 injured
2008 Toronto explosion	August 10, 2008	Ontario ( Canada )	accident	Multiple explosions over a period of 12 hours.	unknown	2 dead, 64 injured
Viareggio railway accident	June 30, 2009	Viareggio ( Italy )	accident	After the derailment of a train, butane gas escaped from tank wagons , ignited and exploded. 22 dead and 27 injured were the result. Several buildings collapsed.	unknown	22 dead 27 injured
Cataño tank farm explosions	October 24, 2009	Cataño ( Puerto Rico )	Accident (fire)	Eleven tanks at an oil and gasoline depot caught fire. The fire eventually led to an explosion in which a total of 30 tanks were destroyed. The tremors corresponded to an earthquake measuring 2.8 on the Richter scale . The flames hit up to 30 m high.	unknown	unknown
Explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig	April 20, 2010	Gulf of Mexico Atlantic ( USA )	Blowout	On April 20, 2010, an explosion occurred on the Deepwater Horizon, which was followed by a fire . The fireboats used could not save the drilling platform, so that the platform sank on April 22, 2010.	unknown	11 dead, 17 injured
Munitions explosion at Evangelos Florakis naval base	July 11, 2011	Naval Base Evangelos Florakis ( Cyprus )	accident	98 shipping containers filled with basic ammunition, an Iran-Syria weapon shipment confiscated according to UN Res. 1747, which were improperly stored in the open air, exploded. 12 dead, 60 injured. One of three Cypriot power plants was destroyed.	> 2000 t	12 dead 60 injured
Munitions explosion in Khorramabad	November 12, 2011	Khorramabad ( Iran )	accident	Ammunition explosion due to improper handling in the small town of Bid Ganeh , 20 km west of Tehran . 17 dead, 23 injured.	unknown	17 dead, 23 injured
Explosion of an ammunition depot in Brazzaville	0March 4, 2012	Brazzaville ( Republic of the Congo )	accident	Explosions of several ammunition depots in the Congolese capital Brazzaville. At least 150 dead and more than 1500 injured.	unknown	250 dead 2300 injured
Explosion in the West Fertilizer Company	17th April 2013	West , Texas ( USA )	unknown	Ammonium nitrate explosion in a fertilizer dealer's warehouse. 15 dead, at least 200 injured.	unknown	15 dead, ≥200 injured
Explosions in underground gas pipeline	July 31, 2014	Kaohsiung , ( Taiwan )	accident	A cascade of gas explosions also brought buildings down	unknown	28 dead 270 injured
Explosion at an auto supplier in China	02nd August 2014	Kunshan ( People's Republic of China )	accident	Metal dust explosion at a GM auto parts plant	unknown	75 dead 185 injured
Explosion in the port of Tianjin	August 12, 2015	Tianjin ( People's Republic of China )	Self-ignition	Two explosions in a dangerous goods warehouse	450 t	173 dead 797 injured
Fuel explosion in South Sudan	16th September 2015	Road at Maridi ( South Sudan )	flying sparks	Explosion in a tanker truck that had crashed and people wanted to skim petrol	unknown	190 dead more critically injured
Paravur explosion disaster	April 10, 2016	Puttingal Temple , Paravur , India	flying sparks	Fireworks explosion in a storage room	unknown	106 dead, 350 injured
Explosion in chemical plant in Coatzacoalcos	April 21, 2016	Pemex factory, Coatzacoalcos , Mexico	accident	Explosion in a factory producing vinyl chloride	unknown	≥ 24 dead ≥ 136 injured
Gas explosion at the Baumgarten station of Gas Connect Austria	December 12, 2017 8:45 am	Baumgarten an der March ( Austria )	unknown	Gas transport through the pipelines is restored at midnight.	unknown	2 dead, 18 injured, 1 of them seriously
An illegally tapped gasoline pipeline explodes	January 2019	Hidalgo , Mexico	accident		unknown	≥ 125 deaths
Explosion disaster in the port of Beirut	04th August 2020	Beirut ( Lebanon )	Accident (suspected)	Several explosions in the city's port, the last of which - a detonation - was the most serious. 2,750 t of ammonium nitrate that were stored on the port area exploded .	1375 t	≥ 220 dead ≥ 6000 injured 110 missing people

See also

• Nuclear disasters & nuclear weapons explosions
• Chemical disasters
• List of major fire disasters
• List of disasters

Individual evidence

1. ^ Library zeno.org: Heussler, Leonhard: Explosion of a powder store, lightning strike in Budapest on Pentecost Sunday
2. ↑ Johann Christoph Allmayer-Beck : The Army History Museum Vienna. Hall II - The 18th Century to 1790. Kiesel Verlag, Salzburg 1983, pp. 75–77.
3. ^ Manfried Rauchsteiner , Manfred Litscher (Ed.): The Army History Museum in Vienna. Graz, Vienna 2000 pp. 10–15.
4. ↑ Not about the castle: Gösting ruins are closed. Kleine Zeitung, print, July 18, 2020, p. 20 f.
5. ↑ Accidents Industrial and régulation des risques: l'explosion de la poudrerie de Grenelle de 1794 , in modern la revue d'histoire et contemporaine
6. ↑ William Hosea Balleau, The Flood Rock Explosion In: The American Naturalist, Vol. 20, No. 2, Chicago, February 1886, pp. 137-140.
7. ↑ The Blasting of Flood Rock (1885) . nygeschichte.blogspot.de. June 9, 2010. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
8. ^ Toni Whitt: The East River is Cleaner Now. The Water Birds Say Sun . In: The New York Times , June 2, 2006. Retrieved November 26, 2013. 
9. ↑ Courte description de l'évènement ( Memento of July 9, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (Académie de Lille)
10. ↑ Lochnagar Crater - The Official Site
11. ↑ Stefan Reuter: Monuments in memory of the victims of the explosion on Choisy on September 14, 1916. Institute for Historical Regional Studies at the University of Mainz e. V., April 28, 2017, accessed February 11, 2019 . 
12. ↑ Christoph Gunkel: "If he can't crunch you, he'll send you to Leverkusen" . Internet portal “Der Spiegel”. August 21, 2020. Accessed August 21, 2020.
13. ↑ Andreas Ruppert: The "Ehrenhain" on Blomberger Straße in Detmold . Internet portal "Westphalian History". February 1, 2009. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
14. ^ The Orcadian, July 11, 2002: Research puts Vanguard loss at 843 ( Memento of October 27, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
15. ^ Karl-Heinz Grotjahn: Steel and turnips. Contributions and sources on the history of Lower Saxony in the First World War (1914–1918). CW Niemeyer 1993, p. 82, FN 130.
16. ^ Report of the district director from Blankenburg to the ducal state ministry in Braunschweig from January 12, 1918. In: Karl-Heinz Grotjahn: Stahl und turnip. Contributions and sources on the history of Lower Saxony in the First World War (1914–1918). P. 70 f.
17. ^ Daniela Angetter, Josef-Michael Schramm: About the mining war in high alpine rock and ice regions (1st World War, SW front, Tyrol 1915-1918) from an engineering geological point of view. Geo.Alp, Vol. 11, University of Innsbruck, 2014, 135–160 ( PDF 6.4 MB )
    Here, however, a work is cited where "48" was made into "485" due to transcription errors, see disc.
18. ↑ Vincenzo Traniello: Il Pasubio e la guerra di mine . In: Rivista militare italiana Anno II - Febbraio 1928 - N. 2 . Rome, 1928, pp. 226f. ( PDF 22.2 MB ).
19. ↑ Robert Striffler: The 34 mine explosions on the Tyrolean mountain front 1916-1918 ( Memento from September 18, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
20. ^ City of Munster ( Memento from March 7, 2016 in the Internet Archive ).
21. ↑ Geschichtsspuren.de .
22. ↑ June 5th 1941 explosion. Retrieved March 19, 2019 . 
23. ^ Surrey (British Steam merchant) . uboat.net. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
24. ^ RA Burt: Japanese Battleships 1897-1945. Arms and Armor Press, ISBN 0-85368-758-7
25. ↑ Fauld explosion 70th anniversary: ​​New memorial unveiled BBC, November 27, 2014
26. ↑ Stephanie Linning: Britain's biggest explosion site 70 years on Daily Mail Online, November 27, 2014
27. ↑ Photos (Fauld Crater) www.google.at/maps, accessed May 15, 2017. - Pictures of the crater, memorial stone made of white granite (from Italy, 1990), explanatory gray panel.
28. ↑ Trinity ( English ) nuclearweaponarchive.org. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
29. ^ Andreas Oeding, Broder Schwensen, Michael Sturm: Flexikon. 725 aha experiences from Flensburg! , Flensburg 2009, article: Explosionsunlück
30. ↑ Explosion of the MUNA Feucht 1946 Heeres-Munitionsanstalt Feucht: data and documents, special exhibition, Museum for historical military technology eV, Röthenbach an der Pegnitz , wehrtechnikmuseum.de, 2006, accessed August 4, 2020.
31. ↑ Historical Lexicon of Switzerland: Technical Accidents
32. ↑ June 18, 1946: Explosion in the Hänigsen Salt Mine , NDR1, June 19, 2005, accessed July 5, 2020. - Audio (2:33)
33. ↑ Picture of the island after the blast , historical picture archive of the waterways
34. ↑ Gregor Haake: The day on which Heligoland defied the mega bomb AP / Spiegel Online, April 13, 2007
35. ↑ Mitholz in Switzerland: Relocation due to risk of explosion tagesschau.de, March 3, 2020, accessed July 5, 2020.
36. ↑ Blausee-Mitholz explosion disaster (1947) visual.keystone-sda.ch, 20 images, accessed July 5, 2020.
37. ^ Hansjörg Rytz, Khosrow Bakhtar: Analysis and Documentation of the Mitholz Underground Ammunition Storage Accidental Explosion in Switzerland . In: Proceedings of the Twenty-Seventh DoD Explosives Safety Seminar Held in Las Vegas, NV on August 22-26, 1996 . Las Vegas, Nevada 1996 (English, dtic.mil ).
38. ^ Valentin lattice man: On the explosions of Dailly and Blausee-Mitholz . In: Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (ed.): Rote Revue: socialist monthly . tape 27 , no. 4 , 1948, pp. 146–155 , doi : 10.5169 / seals-335975 .
39. ↑ Schweizerische Unfallversicherungsanstalt (Ed.): Results of the accident statistics for the sixth five-year observation period 1943–1947 . S. 24 ( unfallstatistik.ch [PDF]).
40. ↑ 50 years ago - July 15, 1949. The explosion in Prüm. . landeshauptarchiv.de. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
41. ^ Carl-Otto Leiber: Assessment of Safety and Risk with a Microscopic Model of Detonation Amsterdam, 2003.
42. ↑ 50 years ago - September 27, 1954. Funeral service for the victims of the explosion in Niederstedem. . landeshauptarchiv.de. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
43. ↑ Cali Explosion , Spanish article
44. ^ The train accident at Langenweddingen . kondero.de. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
45. ↑ Huge explosion in the “Pulveri”: 18 dead and many injured. SWI swissinfo.ch , April 4, 2019, accessed on April 8, 2019 . 
46. ↑ Výbuch v chemicče v Záluží July 19, 1974 . litvinov.sator.eu. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
47. ↑ Spyros accident, infopedia.nl.sg ( Memento from July 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
48. ↑ David E. Hoffman: Reagan Approved Plan to Sabotage Soviets. Washington Post, February 27, 2004.
49. ↑ Peter Welchering: From the beginnings of cyber war. Deutschlandfunk Kultur, February 13, 2019.
50. ↑ El Incendio De Tacoa 12/19/1982 . farahnna.wordpress.com. October 21, 2006. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
51. ↑ vzryvy-na-skladah-boepripasov-v-severomorske-1984-god December 12, 2017, accessed July 5, 2020. (Russian)
52. ↑ MEXICO: Practically erased . In: Der Spiegel . No. 48 , 1984, pp. 135 ( Online - Nov. 26, 1984 ).
53. ↑ http://www.newarzamas.ru/history/arzamaskaja-zheleznodorozhnaja-katastrofa.html
54. ↑ http://1723.ru/forums/index.php?showtopic=205&st=100
55. ^ Evaluation of the debris throw from the 1992 explosion in the Steingletscher installation in Switzerland
56. ↑ jungfrauzeitung.ch
57. ↑ bernerzeitung.ch
58. ^ Debris hazard from accidental explosions in underground storage facilities
59. ^ Explosion in China Shakes Hong Kong The New York Times, December 29, 1992
60. ↑ 20 years ago: Explosion of the Fina gas station in Eynatten. In: brf.be. June 17, 2015, accessed on September 15, 2019 (German).  In the video, at 0: 00–0: 01 and 2: 55–3: 00 there is a smaller one (2 m long, estimated 2 m ³ volume, logo Fina / Finaga (s)) and 3: 04–3: 07/4 : 49 a much larger one near the advertising mast of the gas station into the picture. The first one seems to have shifted slightly from the concrete base, both look intact .
61. ↑ Ikeja bomb blast: 8 years after - Written by Muda Oyeniran, Akin Adewakun and Lekan Olabulo ( Memento from September 13, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) January 28, 2010
62. ^ Catastrophe de Ghislenghien: les victimes vont être indemnisées. February 2, 2012, court, fire, extinguishing, recovery (video 00:59) (French)
63. ↑ http://www.n24.de/n24/Nachrichten/Panorama/d/917816/freisschul-im-fall-der-gas-katastrophe-in-ghislenghien.html Panorama: acquittal in the case of the gas disaster in Ghislenghien, n24.de, February 22, 2010, accessed September 18, 2015.
64. ↑ Danes stunned by fireworks blaze . In: BBC , November 5, 2004. Retrieved November 26, 2013. 
65. ↑ Thomas Roser: Gerdec explosion disaster: "Everyone knew about it" . DiePresse.com. April 21, 2008. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
66. ↑ Morning Post: Eviction after the explosion in Toronto . Morgenpost.de. August 10, 2008.
67. ↑ Major fire after explosion in tank farm in Puerto Rico . In: SZ-Online , October 23, 2009. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved on November 26, 2013. 
68. ^ Evacuation from Puerto Rico fire . In: BBC , October 24, 2009. Retrieved November 26, 2013. 
69. ^ Report of July 11, 2011 on the BBC website (English, with aerial photo from Google Maps) , accessed on March 17, 2013
70. ↑ Explosion in ammunition dump kills 17 Spiegel Online, November 12, 2011
71. ↑ Brazzaville munitions dump blasts 'kill scores' BBC, March 4, 2012
72. ↑ Sabrina Fritz: Pictures like in Iraq. (No longer available online.) Tagesschau.de, archived from the original on April 18, 2013 ; Retrieved April 18, 2013 . 
73. ↑ vks / dpa / AFP: Violent detonations: Dozens of dead after gas explosions in Taiwan. Spiegel Online, August 1, 2014, accessed August 2, 2014 . 
74. ↑ Taiwan gas blasts in Kaohsiung kill at least 25. BBC News, August 1, 2014, accessed August 2, 2014 . 
75. ↑ Kunshan explosion factory ignored several danger warnings, says regulator .
76. ↑ Tianjin explosion: China sets final death toll at 173, ending search for survivors. The Guardian, September 12, 2015, accessed September 12, 2015 . 
77. ↑ Tianjin Death Toll up to 129. China Radio International, August 24, 2015, accessed on August 24, 2015 . 
78. ^ Report reveals Tianjin blast firm's government ties. Global Times, February 6, 2016, accessed February 14, 2016 . 
79. ↑ Chinese Photographer's Tianjin Explosion Won Third in World Press Photo 2016 CRIENGLISH.com, english.cri.cn, February 19, 2016, accessed May 15, 2017. - Aerial photo with water-filled crater, August 15, 2015, by Chen Jie - 3. Prize at World Press Photo 2016 , Amsterdam.
80. ↑ Over 80 dead in explosion in South Sudan. ORF.at, September 18, 2015, accessed on September 18, 2015 . 
81. ↑ Kleine Zeitung, print edition, September 21, 2015, p. 9. - 190 dead, probably cigarette.
82. ↑ Death toll in fireworks explosion at Puttingal temple mounts to 102. (No longer available online.) Onmanorama, April 10, 2016, archived from the original on April 10, 2016 ; accessed on April 10, 2016 . 
83. ↑ Leak blamed as Mexico explosion death toll rises. The Guardian, April 22, 2016, accessed April 22, 2016 . 
84. ↑ An explosion that shakes the whole of Europe OÖN, nachrichten.at, December 13, 2017, accessed July 5, 2020.
85. ↑ AFP: Mexico: Number of dead after pipeline disaster in Mexico rose to 125 . In: The time . February 4, 2019, ISSN  0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed June 10, 2019]).
86. ↑ BGR / Seismology / Earthquake News. Retrieved August 13, 2020 . 
87. ↑ Lebanon's government 'to resign over blast' . In: BBC News . August 10, 2020 ( bbc.com [accessed August 13, 2020]).
88. ↑ ^{a b} Lebanon's government 'to resign over blast' . In: BBC News . August 10, 2020 ( bbc.com [accessed August 13, 2020]).

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