Norwich bulletin., 1917-12-07

Halifax. Dec s-More than 2.ooo persons were killed according to careful estimates tonight, when the French munitions ship Mont Blanc blew up in Halifax harbor after a col Hs1on with the Belgian relief steam ship Iona at o'clock this morning. 1ho1r&nds were injured and it is ex- pecteo many of them will Gie.
 Virtually all the north end of the city was laid waste and the property damage will run far into the millions. A part 5f the town of Dartmouth, across the harbor from Halifax, also was wrecked Nearly all the h1ildings in the dockYard there are in ruins.
 The zone of destruction in Halifax itself extends from the North Street railway as far north es Africville to Bedford Basin and covers an area Of about two square miles in the section Rnown as Richmond The buildings which were not demolished by the f1<>e of ths terrific explosion were d@stroye6 by the fire which followed:
 Scores O. persons were injured by tie collapse of tbe railway station, Arena rink, military gymnasium. sugar refinery and elevatnr-
 All Business Suspended.
 An business has been suspended. Armed guards of soldiers and sailors are pAtrolling the city Not a street in darkneSS tonight All hospitals and many private houses are filled with injured Temporary hospitals and morgues have been opened in school houses in the western section of the city.
 Damage Along Waterfront.
 The damage along the waterfront cannot yet be estimated. Many of the men composing the crews of the ships in the harbor were killed or injured On one steamer the Pictou, it is re- ported than 8 of the crew of 42 were killed Bodies of many seamen have been piciEed up in the harbor. Rescue parties working among the ruins of buildings are removing the bodies of the dead
 The Collision.
 The collision which resulted in probably the worst disaster in the his tory of the Dominion occurred near Pier $ in the narrows leading from rne harbor to Bedford Basin The mu- nit1onS ship was bound from New York for Bedford Basin, when the relief ship Iona. bound for sea. crashed into her.
 The Mont Blanc was pierced on the port side almost to the engine room. The other ship which was only slight ly damaged, backed away when the flames burst out on the munitions ship, and was abandoned by the crew. The captain of the Mont Blanc also ordered his crew to the boats as he realized an explosion was Inevitable The men reached shore safely before the tremendous blast seventeen min utes later which blew their ship to pieces and wrecked Q large part of the city.
 Persons Hurled te the Ground.
 The business fife ot the city had just begun fo~ he day when the town was shaken -o its foundations by the explosion Persons in the streets were picked up bodily and hurled to the ground Occurants of office buildings were covered under a shower Of fall Ing glass and plaster. Houses in the Richmond section crumpled up and collapsed. buryvins their tenants
 In the main part of the city where the buildings are chiefly of stone or concrete the damage was confined to the shatteriEg Of windows and most of the casualties in this section were r1used by flying glass.
 Walls Blown to Atoms.
 In the west and northwest ends the damage was more extensive and there the walls of many houses were blown to atoms It was fin Richmond, how eyers opposite the scene of the explo- sion. that the havoc was greatest Whole blocks of dwellings, mostly Of Street after street is in ruins and the structures which were left standing by the explosion were destroyed by fires which broke out simultaneously in a score of places and which it was impossible ocheck until they had burned themselves out It is believes scores Of persons who had been in Jured by the collapse of their homes perished in the flames from which they were helpless to flee. The fires fin this district still are smouldering tonight.
 Panic-StricIoen Thrones.
 Five minutes after the explosion the streets in all parts of Halifax were filled with frenzied panic-stricken fhrongs striving to reach the outskirts in an effort to escape what they be- lieved was a raid by a German fleet Hundreds of them had been cut by the shower of glass which followed the explosion
 Scenes Def7ed Description.
 In Richmond section the scenes en- acted de1ed description Seriously in f~d Wen and women erawied from