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Eddystone explosion

1917 disasters in the United States1917 in PennsylvaniaApril 1917 eventsExplosions in 1917Explosions in the United States
History of women in the United StatesIndustrial fires and explosions in the United StatesUnited States home front during World War IWorld War I

On April 10, 1917, four days after the United States declared war on Germany, an explosion at the Eddystone Ammunition Corporation's artillery shell plant in Eddystone, Pennsylvania, killed 139 people. The majority were women and girls who worked in the loading room, loading shells with black powder. 55 of the victims could not be identified and were buried in a mass grave. Hundreds more were injured. The victims were arguably among the first American casualties of World War I. The explosion was initially blamed on German saboteurs, and later on Russians. It may in fact have been an accident caused by malfunctioning equipment.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Eddystone explosion (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Eddystone explosion
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N 39.861388888889 ° E -75.339166666667 °
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19022
Pennsylvania, United States
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