The Vergarola explosion, also known in Italy as the Vergarolla massacre, took place on 18 August 1946 when the sudden detonation of 12 large pieces of assorted ordnance, containing an estimated 9 tons of explosives, killed more than 100 people and injured 100 others at Vergarola (or Vergarolla) beach, in

Pula Pula, also known as Pola, is the largest city in Istria County, west Croatia, and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istria, Istrian peninsula in western Croatia, wi ...

(Pola), which was at the time under temporary Allied military administration. The ordnance, which "had been swept from the water ndwere piled up on a beach awaiting disposal" exploded at just after 2pm, 18 August 1946. Initial newspaper reports cited 43 dead and 57 injured, including two British soldiers. Many of the victims were bathers who were attending an annual swimming event called ''Scarioni Cup''. The explosion had strong political implications, because local Italian leaders and the main Italian newspaper ''

L'Arena di Pola ''L'Arena'' is an Italian local daily newspaper, based in Verona, Italy. History and profile Founded in 1866, shortly before the annexation of Veneto into the Kingdom of Italy, ''L'Arena'' is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy and the most ...

'', suggested that it was a demonstration against the Italian feelings of the residents, and a way to reinforce the possible (later actual) annexation to the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

. The exact number of victims of the incident remains undefined, with estimates ranging up to about a hundred dead.

Allied investigation

A subsequent Allied military investigation into the incident was undertaken by Brigadier M.D. Erskine, commander of the 24th Guards Brigade who reported on 8 September 1946 that the accident was caused by the detonation of three

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

warheads, four

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

demolition charges and five smoke generators. He said that the munitions had been inspected on several occasions and had been certified as being safe and that "I do not consider therefore that it is possible for it to have exploded without being detonated." He added that " e ammunition was deliberately exploded by person or persons unknown. This is confirmed by the fact that a small preliminary explosion was heard and a fire was seen burning." Agreeing with these findings, Brigadier Bastin on behalf of the General Officer Commanding in Chief concluded in the final report dated 14 February 1947 that "I am of the opinion that the explosion was caused by some person or persons unknown. I am satisfied that the ammunition was safe and properly inspected and that it was not feasible to place guards over it. I therefore consider that no blame for the explosion lies with the Allied Military Authorities."

Allied investigation

References

Further reading