The Texas City disaster was an industrial accident that occurred on April 16, 1947, in the port of Texas City, Texas, United States, located in Galveston Bay. It was the deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history and one of history's largest non-nuclear explosions.
A ship captain refuses to flood a cargo hold fire with water to avoid ruining his fertilizer shipment, choosing to seal it and pump in steam instead a fatal decision that turns 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate into a bomb that explodes at 9:12 AM with the force of a small nuclear weapon.
The SS Grandcamp detonation vaporizes the ship, kills 27 of 28 volunteer firefighters instantly, and levels the Texas City waterfront, then 16 hours later a second ship loaded with 961 tons of the same explosive cargo detonates, creating America's deadliest industrial disaster. twice in one day.