The Lapua Cartridge Factory explosion () was an

industrial disaster This article lists notable industrial disasters, which are disasters caused by industrial companies, either by accident, negligence or incompetence. They are a form of industrial accident where great damage, injury or loss of life are caused. O ...

in an

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

factory in

Lapua Lapua (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland's South Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. It is located next to the Lapua River. The town has a population of () and cov ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

on 13 April 1976. 40 workers were killed and 60 people injured. This was Finland's worst industrial disaster.

Explosion

The explosion occurred at 07:43, completely destroying the building. The blast was heard up to away. Most of the injured had been in the factory at the time, but some outside were injured by shrapnel. Of the dead, thirty-five were women. Fifty-two children under the age of 16 lost at least one parent in the accident. A strike by telephone engineers meant that there was reduced communication in Lapua at this time, as many of the circuits had not been fully repaired after the winter and the telephone exchange was quickly overwhelmed as relatives phoned searching for information. Rescue efforts were hampered by fires, causing several of the remaining cartridges to explode at sporadic intervals. Beginning at 08:05, the injured began to be transferred to the district hospital in

Seinäjoki Seinäjoki (; "Wall River"; , formerly ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Ostrobothnia. Seinäjoki is located in the western interior of the country and along the Seinäjoki (river), River Seinäjoki. The population of Sein ...

. Staff at this hospital had already received training in preparation for a major incident, as the town was located at a railway junction. Medical staff were concerned that the clothing worn by victims of the incident could include live ammunition which could be accidentally set off. Military helicopters brought blood supplies from

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

for transfusions.

Response

The day of the disaster, the

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

, Ingvar S. Melin, visited the health centre in the town and the

Parliament of Finland The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral and Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that ...

observed a minute's silence. The funeral service of all 40 victims took place in the southern park of

Lapua Cathedral Lapua Cathedral (; ) is a church in Lapua, Finland, and the seat of the Diocese of Lapua. The neoclassical cathedral was designed by Carl Ludvig Engel and built in 1827. The cathedral's pipe organ is the largest in Finland. External links ...

and was broadcast live on Finnish television. The accident resulted in an enhanced level of crisis support from the Finnish authorities and donations from private individuals came in from across the nation to help.

Investigation

Debris from the scene was taken to the laboratory of the

Finnish Defence Forces The Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) (; ) are the military of Finland. The Finnish Defence Forces consist of the Finnish Army, the Finnish Navy, and the Finnish Air Force. In wartime, the Finnish Border Guard becomes part of the Finnish Defence For ...

for analysis. In November 1976 investigators found that the explosion had begun with a machine which dispensed gunpowder and had spread from there, causing a chain reaction. Investigators tested numerous possible scenarios, among them the theory that rust had caused the machine to malfunction or that a foreign object had lodged in it. However, a definitive cause of the explosion was never discovered. Investigators speculated that poor ventilation in the factory had caused a buildup of gunpowder dust, which was then ignited by a spark. The accident resulted in new legislation in the armaments industry which brought in stricter safety measures. In 1978 legal action against the factory's owners began; this ended in 1982 with all defendants being acquitted. A few weeks after the explosion, the decision was taken to rebuild the factory. It was rebuilt from the town centre.

References

{{coord missing, Finland 1976 in Finland 1976 industrial disasters April 1976 in Europe Explosions in 1976 Explosions in Finland Fires in Finland History of South Ostrobothnia Lapua 1976 disasters in Finland