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)