Vergarola Explosion

The Vergarola explosion took place on 18 August 1946 when the sudden detonation of 12 large pieces of assorted ordnance, containing an estimated 9 tons of explosives, killed approximately 70 people and injured 100 others at Vergarola (or Vergarolla) beach, in Pula, which was at the time under temporary Allied military administration.

The ordnance, which "had been swept from the water were piled up on a beach awaiting disposal" exploded at just after 2pm, 18 August 1946. Initial newspaper reports cited 43 dead and 57 injured, including two British soldiers. Many of the victims were bathers who were attending an annual swimming event called Scarioni Cup. The event had strong political implications, because local Italian leaders and the main Italian newspaper L'Arena di Pola, suggested that it was a demonstration of the Italian feelings of the residents, and a way to contest the possible (later actual) annexation to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The exact number of victims of the incident remains undefined, with estimates ranging up to about a hundred dead.