The Cali Explosion occurred on August 7, 1956, in downtown Cali, Colombia. It was caused by the explosion of seven army ammunition trucks loaded with 1053 boxes of dynamite, which were parked in Cali overnight. In 1956, the city of Cali had around 400,000 inhabitants. More than 1,300 died from the explosion, and another 4,000 were wounded. Some estimate go as high as 4000 deaths and 12000 injured.

Events

Seven army trucks, loaded with 1053 boxes of dynamite, came from Buenaventura and were parked in an old railway station. The explosion occurred in the early hours of the morning - destroying 41 blocks and leaving a crater 50 meters wide and 25 meters deep. The blast destroyed buildings, homes and businesses, killing more than 1,300 people and injuring more than 4,000. Six districts were affected: San Nicolás, El Porvenir, El Hoyo, El Piloto, Fátima and Jorge Isaacs. The blast caused an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.3. The noise was heard in Buga, Palmira,

Santander de Quilichao Santander de Quilichao is a town and municipality in the north of the Cauca Department, Colombia at 97 km to the north of Popayán and 45 km to the south of Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca ...

Caloto Caloto is a town and municipality in the Cauca Department, Colombia. Notable people *Davinson Sánchez, footballer *John Arlington González, footballer References

Municipalities of Cauca Department {{Cauca-geo-stub ...

and Jamundí. Hypotheses at the time for the explosion include trucks overheating or a soldier accidentally firing his gun. The incident occurred while

Gustavo Rojas Pinilla Gustavo Rojas Pinilla (12 March 1900 – 17 January 1975) was a Colombian Army general, civil engineer and dictator who ruled as 19th President of Colombia as from June 1953 to May 1957. Rojas Pinilla gained prominence as a colonel during L ...

was president. He attributed the tragedy to the opposition, who had recently signed the Benidorm covenant.

Reactions

In the early hours following the explosion, priest Alfonso Hurtado Galvis intervened. He said of the incident: "the mushroom cloud left by the explosion resembled that formed by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but smaller in proportion ... mutilated body parts including legs, arms, torsos could be seen. The scene was horrific.. dead and wounded everywhere." In the central cemetery 3725 skulls and body parts were buried in a mass grave. An iron cross near streets 25 and 26 was erected to commemorate the incident. Following the tragedy, local Colombian organizations such as the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...

, the Sendas organization (Department of Social Welfare and Child Protection, later the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar), the

Boy Scouts Boy Scouts may refer to: * Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement. * Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement. * An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are ...

and the

Sisters of Charity Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, but others are unrelated. The ...

and clergy offered help. The

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

, then headed by Pope

Pius XII Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect Given name * Pius ...

, the Soviet Union, the Kingdom of Afghanistan, the Palhavi dynasty of Iran (Persia), Vietnam, the Kingdom of Laos, the Philippines, North Korea, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, the Mongolian People's Republic, South Korea, Japan, China and Europe sympathised with the victims.

Popular culture

* '' Bloody Flesh'' (Spanish: ''Carne de tu carne'', "Flesh of Your Flesh") is a 1983 Colombian drama horror film written and directed by

Carlos Mayolo Carlos Mayolo (10 September 1945 – 3 February 2007) was a Colombian actor and film director. He directed more than ten films from 1970 to 2000. Selected filmography References External links * 1945 births 2007 deaths Colombian fil ...

based on the explosion.

References

{{coord, 3.459791, N, 76.520605, W, source:wikidata, display=title Explosions in 1956 Cali 1956 in Colombia August 1956 events in South America