Oppau BASF Explosion 1921

In 1921, Germany witnessed one of its worst industrial disasters when 4,500 tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer exploded at a BASF plant in Oppau. The blast killed between 500 and 600 people, injured 2,000 more, and left 6,500 homeless. With the power of 1-2 kilotons of TNT, the explosion thundered so loudly it was heard more than 300 kilometers away in France and Munich. Workers had caused the disaster while trying to clear a clogged silo with dynamite.

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