At Colón in the Panama, an exploding British cargo of nitro-glycerin devastates the port and kills fifty

Aspinwall, now Colón, Panama was the western terminus of the short journey across the Isthmus to the Pacific.  At around 7 a.m., the cargo of seventy cases of nitro-glycerine, together with percussion caps, exploded aboard the British freighter European as it was moored at the docks.  The ship was a total loss and extensive damage was also done to port installations. More than fifty people were killed.  (By John Osborne)