This tragic disaster is the largest non-nuclear explosion since records began, and is one of the deadliest industrial accidents of all time. On 16 April 1947, an arms carrier called the SS Grandcamp carrying 2,300 tons of highly volatile ammonium nitrate exploded after a fire on board. The blast leveled nearly 1,000 buildings on land, killed 531 people, and shot 6,350 tons of metal thousands of feet into the air.
