6. Disaster Near The Hypocenter

Around the Matsuyama-cho intersection which is close to the hypocenter, victimswere burned to death in their last gesture grasping at the air or trying to escape. Everything that burns was burnt. Roof tiles were crushed into small pieces and scattered all over, air-raid shelters and street cars were burned and ruined. All tell the miserable story without words.

In the Record of the Nagasaki A-bomb War Disaster, the situation in Matsuyama township is described as follows:

"A huge fireball formed in the sky. Directly beneath it is Matsuyama township. Together with the flash came the heat rays and blast, which instantly destroyed everything on earth, and those in the area fell unconscious and were crushed to death. Then they were blown up in the air and hurled back to the ground. The roaring flames burned those caught under the structures who were crying or groaning for help.

When the fire burnt itself out, there appeared a completely changed, vast, colorless world that made you think it was the end of life on earth. In a heap of ashes lay the debris of the disaster and charred trees, presenting a gruesome scene. The whole city became extinct. Citizens who were in Matsuyama township, the hypocenter, were all killed instantly, excepting a child who was in an air-raid shelter."

7. The Urakami Cathedral Destroyed In An Instant

The cathedral collapsed at the burst of the A-bomb and scores cf believers died, sharing the same fate. Then, fire broke out. It is said that the remains of the cathedral continued to further collapse with eerie thuds even after dark. It is also said that there were 1,400 believers in Urakami at the time of the bombing, and 850 were killed by the A-bomb.

In the ruins of the cathedlal, there were many stone statues of the saints in the heaps of broken bricks and stones. The photograph shows part of the outer wall of the south entrance where the statues of the Holy Mother and Saint ,John lie chat,red by the heat rays. Also, the shadow in the lower left of the photograph shows that the largest twin tower in the Orient fully received the blast and was shifted 8 centimeters from the foundation stone.

The building. of this cathedral began in 1985 and it took 30 years to be completed in Urakami, a village then, where the believers have kept their faith since Christianity was introduced to Japan, and even through the years of the Edo period(1603-1867) when Christianity was prohibited. The building employed the Romanesque style, using stones and bricks. This cathedral had a floor space of 1,162 sq. meters and tower 26 meters high. The current LTr.akami Cathedral was built in 1959. Part of the destroyed cathedral is preserved at the hypocenter.

8. A Factory Destroyed By The Blast

The steel framework of this factory was broken and bent in a mess as if it were made from a pliable material. The concrete base supporting the steel frame was shoved by the blast. This is testament to how frightful the blast pressure was. It is estimated that this factory was subjected to a wind velocity of 200 meters per second arid a wind pressure of 10 tons per square meter.

Until the Very moment of the explosion, there was an array of machine tools in the factory, and a number of overhead cranes were busily operating. Most of the workers Were crushed to death.

On August 9, it is recorded that 1,721 persons came to work, among whom 1,019 died and 149 were seriously injured. The rate of casualties was 68%.

A worker Who miraculously kept his life said: "I was talking about work with my colleague, but in a moment he was killed instantly by a crane which crushed half of his body. It was a shocking sight and a horrible way to die --his head was smashed, his belly torn and his bowels ballooned." This photograph shows where many such tragedies took place.