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Anybody have more information on this? There seems to be scant information on probably what was likely one of Macedonia's largest man-made disaster. Several hundred dead, tens of thousands homeless, half the city destroyed, etc. On the scale of destruction, it's almost comparable to the 1963 Skopje earthquake. There were some rumors that Macedonian rebels caused it, but it seems like it was an accident. I've run across this many times in research, but haven't been able to find much more about it.
BELGRADE, April 20.—Four hun
dred car loads of ammunition and
high explosives stored near the railroad
station at Monastir, southern
Servia, exploded Tuesday at noon,
killing several hundred persons,
wounding thousands and virtually des
troying the heart of the city. Onehalf
of the city’s population was rendered
homeless.
The victims were mostly children
and soldiers. A church in which the
children were worshipping Collapsed
under the detonation, while the barracks
in which 1,800 soldiers were
having lunch was destroyed.
Immediately after the explosion,
fire broke out in various parts of the
city. The panic-stricken inhabitants
fled to the nearby woods and mountains,
from which they watched their
homes burn. All telegraphic communication
from Monastir with the
outside world was cut off.
Relief Units Go to Scene
The first news of the disaster
reached Belgrade, from refugees who
managed to reach Prilep, 30 miles to
the northwest of Monastir. Several
Serbian relief units were immediately
organized and started for Monastir.
Six American women doctors of
the American Woman’s hospital at
Veles left there for Monastir as soon
as news of the explosion was received.
They were headed by Dr. Esther
Lovejoy of Richmond, Va. They expected
to negotiate the fifty miles
of had roads over the mountains to
Monastir and reach the stricken city
by this evening.
BELGRADE, April 20.—Four hun
dred car loads of ammunition and
high explosives stored near the railroad
station at Monastir, southern
Servia, exploded Tuesday at noon,
killing several hundred persons,
wounding thousands and virtually des
troying the heart of the city. Onehalf
of the city’s population was rendered
homeless.
The victims were mostly children
and soldiers. A church in which the
children were worshipping Collapsed
under the detonation, while the barracks
in which 1,800 soldiers were
having lunch was destroyed.
Immediately after the explosion,
fire broke out in various parts of the
city. The panic-stricken inhabitants
fled to the nearby woods and mountains,
from which they watched their
homes burn. All telegraphic communication
from Monastir with the
outside world was cut off.
Relief Units Go to Scene
The first news of the disaster
reached Belgrade, from refugees who
managed to reach Prilep, 30 miles to
the northwest of Monastir. Several
Serbian relief units were immediately
organized and started for Monastir.
Six American women doctors of
the American Woman’s hospital at
Veles left there for Monastir as soon
as news of the explosion was received.
They were headed by Dr. Esther
Lovejoy of Richmond, Va. They expected
to negotiate the fifty miles
of had roads over the mountains to
Monastir and reach the stricken city
by this evening.
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