KYW Flashback: Tanker Explosion Lights Up The Sky
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A thundering explosion ripped through a tanker, docked near Fort Mifflin and a KYW reporter remembers being jolted out of bed in a Center City apartment.
Moments later his phone rang and the lilting voice of editor Bob Williams was singing, "it's overtime time."
It was this week in 1974 that KYW reported a Greek tanker -- The Elias -- had blown up.
Flames filled the night sky. A pilot, landing at nearby International Airport was skimming low over the ship when it exploded. He reported seeing muzzle flashes from a gun just before the blast.
Fourteen people died, The Elias was a total loss and the ARCO refinery dock was heavily damaged.
Police were probing tips that the vessel was involved in narcotics trafficking and the gunshot report, but nothing was determined, including the cause of the blast. To this day, it's a mystery without a conclusion.
