GREAT EXPLOSION.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1696, 12 March 1913, Page 7

GREAT EXPLOSION.

MANY VILLAGES SHAKEN. NOBEL'S WORKS BLOWN UP. i FOUR SEVERE SHOCKS. By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright ] London, March 10. 1 There has been a terrific dynamite explosion at Nobel's works at Irvine, in Ayrshire. ' , * Six people wero killed and seven sen- i ously injured. Two'are in a critical condition. A dozen villages were shaken, and num- i bers of churches and houses were damaged. The explosion originated in a guncolton drying shed. (Rec. March 12, 0.50 a.m.) London, March 11. The detailed accounts of the explosion at Nobel's works state that a bluish flame leaped skywards, followed by a tremendous concussion four times repeated as the guncotton in four buildings exploded. ' The brick buildings were instantly reduced to a heap of debris and the air was thick with flying masonry, stones, and glass, while dense smoke hung pall-like over the scene. Those who were killed were engaged in unloading a drying stove. The origin of the disaster'is a mystery. The men ill adjacent buildings were bowled over like ninepins. The' shock was felt over a radius of twenty miles and the sound was heard'throughout Ayrshire. Windows were rattled in Glasgow,, and practically every window in Irvine, half a mile away was broken. The buildings there were rocked, and ceilings fell. The school children were also thrown into a panic. Horses bolted. and windows were broken at Troon, and many birds were killed. Two thousand persons were employed in the factory and there were heartrending scenes on the relatives flocking to learn the news.