The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-29 00:00:00

THE FATAL EXPLOSION AT RHODES.

The Presse d'Orient publishes a letter which gives
some details of the destruction of a part of the town of
Rhodes by the explosion of the powder magazine :
" In the afternoon of the 6th Rhodes was visited by a
most violent thunderstorm, and several houses were
struck by lightning and more or less injured. Suddenly
a tremendous explosion was heard ; the ground shook
ak from the effect of an earthquake, and windows were
smashed in every direction. The explosion was followed
by two others, and a dense black smoke arose. It was after
a time ascertained that the lightning had fallen on the
Church of St. Jean, and bad penetrated into the subter-
ranean vaults underneath used as a depot for gunpowder,
and in which an immense quantity of that commodity
had recently been placed. It is impossible to depict the
horror of the scone. Not a house was left standing in
the whole quarter of the city near the church, and that
buildiog itself was completely levelled with the ground.
The quarter was the ricbest and handsomest of the
town, but not a vestige of it now remains. Disfigured
bodies were lying about on the ground, and the groans
of the dying were heard on every side. Had prompt and
immediate assistance been giVen, there is no doubt that
many lives might have been saved ; but every one was
threwn into such consternation by the suddenness of the
catastrophe that but few had presence of mind enough
left to undertake the painful task. Night soon arrived,
and from some strange motives of safety, which are in-
explicable under such circumstances, the gates were
closed, and the operations for assistance were for a time
suspended. Mr. Campbell, the English Consul, having
assembled some workmen, had the gates again opened
and proceeded to the scene of the disaster, and as well
particularly
fitil l
living
i n atg
as they could cleared away the ruins,
the places where the groans of persons
were the most distinctly heard. This work was
one of great difficulty, for the rain fell in such tor-
rents that it was impossible to keep a torch burning. At
daylight next morning more efficient means were orga-
nised. several dead bodies were got out, and two young
girls of 12 and a child of 7 were afterwards extricated
alive. Ti rese and three or four others, who were saved on
the previous night, are all that survive out of a popula
tion of between 400 and 500 who were in the quarter at the
time of ti ie explosion. Only about 150 of the bodies have
yet been found, as they ara all so deeply buried under
the ruins. Only two Christians were killed, the quarter
being inhabited entirely by Turks. The family of the
Mal Mud ari Perlev Effendi, composed of 18 persons,
have all perished. His mother, his wife, and his daughter
were fou ad about 500 yards from their house. That
functionary was at the time proceeding home, and was
oily slightly injured by some falling stones. The
Governor-General himself was slightly wounded on
the head by some broken glass. Some idea of the
forcer c,f the explosion may be formed from the
fact :that a barge in the harbour was sunk by a
1 quantity of stones falling on her, and beating a hole
througt i her bottom, and by a sailor being killed by a
stone et. riking hint on the head at a distance of more than
half a na ile from the spot."