Enschede fireworks disaster
2000 explosion in the eastern Netherlands / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Enschede fireworks disaster was a catastrophic fireworks explosion on 13 May 2000 in Enschede, Netherlands.[2] The explosion killed 23[lower-alpha 1] people including four firefighters and injured 950 others.[3][4] A total of 400 homes were destroyed and 1,500 buildings were subsequently damaged.
This article may be excessively based on contemporary reporting. (March 2024) |
Date | 13 May 2000; 24 years ago (2000-05-13) |
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Time | c. 15:00 CEST (UTC+02:00) |
Location | Enschede, Netherlands |
Coordinates | 52°13′49″N 6°53′36″E |
Type | Fireworks disaster |
Deaths | 23 (22 directly, 1 indirectly)[1] |
Non-fatal injuries | 950 |
Property damage |
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The first explosion had a strength in the order of 0.8 tons of TNT (3.3 GJ), while the strength of the final explosion was in the range of 4–5 tons of TNT (17–21 GJ).[5] The biggest blast was felt up to city of Deventer, 60 kilometres (40 mi) away. Fire crews were called in from across the border in Germany to help battle the blaze; it was brought under control by the end of the day.
S.E. Fireworks was a major supplier to pop concerts and major festive events in the Netherlands. Prior to the disaster it had a good safety record and met all safety audits.[6]