Explosion
At 8:27am on 22 September 1989, a 15 lb time bomb detonated in the recreational centre changing room at the Royal Marines School of Music. The blast destroyed the recreational centre, levelled the three story accommodation building next to it and caused extensive damage to the rest of the base and nearby civilian homes. The blast was heard several kilometres away, shaking windows in the centre of Deal, and created a large pall of smoke over the town. Most of the personnel who used the building as a barracks had already risen and were practising marching on the parade ground when the blast occurred. These marines witnessed the buildings collapse, and many of the teenaged personnel were in a state of shock for days afterwards.
Some marines had remained behind in the building, and thus received the full force of the explosion. Many were trapped in the rubble for hours and military heavy lifting equipment was needed to clear much of it. Kent Ambulance Service voluntarily agreed to end its industrial strike action to aid those wounded by the blast. Ten marines died at the scene with most trapped in the collapsed building, although one body was later found on the roof of a nearby house. Another 21 were seriously injured and received treatment at hospitals in Deal and Canterbury. One of these men, 21-year old Christopher Nolan, died of his wounds on 18 October 1989. Three of those killed were buried nearby at the Hamilton Road Cemetery, Deal.
Read more about this topic: Deal Barracks Bombing
Famous quotes containing the word explosion:
“Moderation has never yet engineered an explosion ....”
—Ellen Glasgow (1873–1945)
“Frau Stöhr ... began to talk about how fascinating it was to cough.... Sneezing was much the same thing. You kept on wanting to sneeze until you simply couldn’t stand it any longer; you looked as if you were tipsy; you drew a couple of breaths, then out it came, and you forgot everything else in the bliss of the sensation. Sometimes the explosion repeated itself two or three times. That was the sort of pleasure life gave you free of charge.”
—Thomas Mann (1875–1955)