January 9, 2007: Island blown up by gas cooker

[Undertoad]

(Thanks to lurker Spacecow.) Off the northern coast of Panama are a bunch of sandbars and tiny little islands. One mile north of the coast is the island of Soledad Miria. Over 1000 people live there.

Or at least they used to. Just before the end of the year, a gas cooker malfunctioned, creating a massive explosion and fire that leveled over half the dwellings there.

The blast caused an inferno that leapt from hut to hut, taking less than ten minutes to sweep across half the shanty town-style community.

As gas cylinders in more wooden homes exploded, many of Soledad Miria's 1,014 inhabitants dived into the sea or took to fishing boats to escape.

More than a third - 348 - were injured but, amazingly, no one died.