76 years ago in Mumbai, there was a blast like Beirut, the city was fascinated after the death of thousands.

Mumbai Blast 1944: Thousands of people were killed in a blast on 14 April 1944 at Mumbai's Victoria Dock. The recent bombings at Beirut Port have brought back memories of that terrible bomb blast in Mumbai.

Highlights

• In 1944, there was a blast in the capital of Maharashtra, exactly like Beirut,
• About one thousand people were killed in this blast, thousands of people were also injured in this accident.
• On 14 April 1944, two ships exploded in a ship standing on the Victoria dock in Mumbai.

So far, 150 people have died in the horrific blast at Beirut Port recently. At least 5000 people have been injured. A similar explosion took place in Maharashtra's capital Mumbai in 1944, 76 years from now, in which about a thousand people died. Thousands of people were also injured in this accident. On 14 April 1944, two ships exploded due to a fire in a ship standing at Mumbai's Victoria Dock, due to which several buildings in Mumbai were destroyed.

It is said that the blasts in 1944 were so strong that the impact of the blast was made for miles. At that time, the fire brigade personnel had controlled the fire after three days of hard work. Due to World War II, in 1944, British cargo ship 'Fort Steakin' was loaded with tons of explosives, fighter aircraft, and many other goods from the United Kingdom. On the way, hundreds of bundles of cotton cloth were loaded from Karachi on this ship. Despite the danger of fire, these bundles were placed on the bottom of 300 tons of dynamite placed on the ship.

Fire in a ship loaded with ammunition and shaken Mumbai city

On the afternoon of 14 April 1944, the ship reached Victoria Dock in Mumbai. As soon as the ship arrived, it was found that it had caught fire. Efforts started to extinguish the fire but the fire spread due to dynamite, ammunition, and clothing. Within a few hours, two very horrific blasts took place and the city of Mumbai was shaken. 12 ships standing on the dock were destroyed due to the blast. The explosion was so strong that a ship weighing 4000 tons fell to the ground on water.

All the people present nearby died on the spot. It is estimated that between 800 and 1300 people died. Those killed included Army, Navy, Police, and Bombay Port Trust personnel. According to the report of the Indian Express, more people died in the second blast. Actually, after the first blast, a lot of people came to the dock and the second explosion took place. People who came on foot flew in a blast and overturned the vehicles. Black-thick smoke enveloped the sky in darkness.

Thieves could not even touch the items scattered on the road in fear

After two blasts there was so much panic that the thieves did not touch the items scattered on the road for many days. Railway traffic between Byculla and Victoria Terminus (currently CST) was closed after the accident. As a result, for several days, thousands of people were crowding all the stations of Bombay Baroda and Central India railway network and all bus stops. After being closed for several days, people went out to get their work done. Thousands of people lined up at the bus stop and waited for hours to board the bus. Thousands of people became homeless due to the accident. Property worth crores were lost. In the accident, 55 thousand tons of food grains were damaged and the ration supply of Mumbai city was affected for about one and a half months.