Over 420 tons of explosives in transit at the Raritan River Port in South Amboy, New Jersey detonated due to unknown causes, killing 31 and injuring over 350.
[1][2] They were to arrive at South Amboy on Pennsylvania Railroad railcars,[1] and would be loaded on the Isbrandtsen-owned steamship Flying Clipper bound for Karachi.
[6] Red Cross disaster units, fire departments, first aid squads and volunteers from neighboring towns joined the rescue effort.
[1] On July 17, 1951, the New Jersey Legislature passed a bill to officially declare the 31 casualties, including those whose bodies were never found, to be dead so that death certificates could be issued.
The hearings revealed that the company had packed detonating fuses in the same case as the explosives, violating regulations set out by the Interstate Commerce Commission.
The decision of the Coast Guard to temporarily lift restrictions were also criticized in the hearings, by Mayor Leonard and former Governor Harold G.