TORONTO (Reuters) – An explosion at a waterfront grain elevator in Halifax Aug. 7, sent a fireball into the sky over the Atlantic Coast city.
There were no reports of injuries at the site, which was shrouded by smoke and dust, in the city’s south end, near a tourist area where cruise ships dock.
“It’s a working elevator. They were actually in the process of loading a ship when it exploded,” said Mike Mahar of the Halifax police department.
Residents told TV reporters they heard an explosion and saw a fireball billow into the sky just before noon.
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The facility, which is leased to Halifax Grain Elevator Ltd. by the Halifax Port Authority, handles cargo including wheat and wood pellets.
The elevator has a maximum storage capacity of 140,000 tonnes of wheat and slightly less for corn and barley, said port authority spokesperson Michele Peveril.
Elke Juckes, vice-president of Halifax Grain Elevator Ltd., said the elevator was built in 1924 and is inspected twice a year. She said only a part of the elevator was on fire.
Juckes said on Aug. 8 that it was too soon to tell how long the grain elevator, which sees “significant tonnages” of cargo from across Canada and the United States, would be shut down.
“It’s the one grain elevator in Atlantic Canada that’s got marine access,” Juckes said. “Once we can assess the damage, we can let people know.”
During the First World War, Halifax harbour was the site of a massive explosion – the world’s worst at the time – which occurred when a steamship carrying benzol, picric acid and 5,000 tons of TNT, collided with another ship. The resulting explosion killed more than 1,500 people, injured 8,000 and destroyed a large part of the city.
