Remembering the Halifax Explosion

It was on this date in 1917 that a large explosion occurred in the Halifax Harbour.

The Norwegian vessel SS Imo collided with SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship laden with high explosives, in the Narrows, a strait connecting the upper Halifax Harbour to Bedford Basin.

The result was a large explosion on the French freighter, devastating the Richmond district of Halifax.

Approximately 2,000 people were killed by the blast, debris, fires or collapsed buildings, and an estimated 9,000 others were injured.

The blast was the largest man-made explosion at the time, releasing the equivalent energy of roughly 2.9 kilotons of TNT.