Explosion () is a 1973 Romanian drama film directed by Mircea DrÃÂgan. It was entered into the 8th Moscow International Film Festival where it won a Diploma.
After a distress call a harbor master's motor boat of the port of GalaÃÂi discovers the Panamanian-flagged freighter Poseidon on fire and abandoned on the Danube, aboard which is a highly dangerous cargo of 4,000 tons of nitrogen-based fertilizer, enough to level the city and a nearby steel plant. The Mayor of GalaÃÂi (Toma Dimitriu) and the Communist Party leadership headed by First Secretary Ticu Corbea (Toma Caragiu) argue over whether to evacuate the city, fearing mass panic. Meanwhile port officers, military firemen, academician Luca (Radu Beligan), four volunteers from a wedding including oil well firefighter GicÃÂ "Salamander" OpriÃÂan (Gheorghe DinicÃÂ), and shipyard welder Gore Damian (Vasile BoghiÃÂÃÂ) struggle to keep the ship from exploding. One of the Poseidons crew, a blonde stowaway, and a gang of looters complicate matters.
The film's plot is a dramatized depiction of a real event that took place on January 10, 1971, the fire and sinking of the Greek freighter S.S. Vrachos aboard which 3,700 tons of ammonium nitrate were loaded and threatened to destroy the city GalaÃÂi. Screenwriter Ioan Grigorescu completed his script, initially titled "P", by the end of 1971 and production started by the spring of 1972. The gutted hulk of the Vrachos was used as the primary set for the film and was set ablaze again and towed past the GalaÃÂi waterfront during filming. Almost all the stunts in the film were performed by the actors.
The film was successful enough for DrÃÂgan to film a loose sequel featuring DinicÃÂ and Beligan reprising their roles. Cuibul salamandrelor (1977), set in the Maghreb, was produced with Italian assistance and an international cast including Ray Milland, Woody Strode, and Stuart Whitman.