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| The Benjamin R. Curtis was sold to French interests in 1947 and renamed Grandcamp. On 16 April 1947, while loading a cargo of ammonium nitrate in the Texas City Docks, the Grandcamp caught fire. Attempts to put out the blaze proved futile, and the ship was towed out of the dock while burning fiercely. There was then an enormous explosion, which set up a chain reaction causing the explosion and destruction of warehouses and a new chemical plant. The following morning, fires raged along a two mile stretch of waterfront. An American steamer, Highflyer, loaded with nitrate and sulphur caught fire and exploded with such force that extensive damage was caused as much as two miles inland. Also destroyed was the Liberty Wilson B. Keene which was alongside the Highflyer. Warehouses containing nitrate continued to explode for six days, by which time all dockside structures were completely destroyed. Although Texas City only had a population of 18,000 at that time, almost 600 people were killed. |
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