World Accidents EC
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What kinds of accidents can happen in the man made world? Animal attacks, plane crashes, coal mine disasters,
explosions, floods, industrial accidents, ships sinking, nuclear, smog, spacecraft accidents, sports, stampedes,
structural collapse, fires, train accidents, etc…
2. How do these accidents happen?
3. What are the repercussions of these accidents?
4. What can be done to prevent them?
5. How can these accidents affect us?
6. What kind of workers have the responsibilities to prevent such accidents?
7. How do you think you would react in one of these disasters?
8. What are some examples of people who have lived through such disasters?
9. What happens to the people blamed for causing the disasters?
10. What are some examples of manmade disasters that repeat in the same place?
Animal attacks
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436 – Champawat Tiger (India) The Champawat Tiger was a female Bengal Tiger shot in 1907 by Jim
Corbett. It was allegedly responsible for 436 documented deaths in Nepal and the Kumaon area of
India mostly during the 19th century.[1]After having killed over 200 people in Nepal it was driven
by the Nepalese Army across the border (river Sarda) into India, where it continued its activities
in the Kumaon District. It was so bold that it roamed the roads outside villages, roaring and
terrorizing the villagers. All the killings were done during the daytime.The tigress had made a
kill (a 16 year old girl) the day it was shot by Jim Corbett.
400 – Leopard of Panar (Northern India)
200+ – Gustave (crocodile) (Burundi)
150 – Leopard of the Central Provinces (Central Provinces)
135 – Tsavo maneaters (Kenya)
125+ – Leopard of Rudraprayag (India)
113 – Beast of Gévaudan (France)
50+ – Tigers of Chowgarh (India)
42 – Leopard of Gummalapur (India)
22 – Kirov wolf attacks (Russia)
22 – Wolves of Turku (Finland)
18 – Wolves of Périgord (France)
17 – Wolves of Ashta (India)
15 – Tigress of Jowlagiri (Jowlagiri)
13 – Wolves of Hazaribagh (India)
12 – Wolf of Gysinge (Sweden)
12 – Sloth bear of Mysore (India)
7 – Tiger of Mundachipallam (South India)
7 – Sankebetsu brown bear incident (Japan)
4 – Wolf of Soissons (France)
Aviation
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583 – Tenerife airport disaster (Tenerife, 1977) The Tenerife airport disaster occurred on March 27, 1977, when two
Boeing 747 passenger aircraft collided on the runway of Los Rodeos Airport (now known as Tenerife North Airport) on the
Spanish island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. With a total of 583 fatalities, the crash is the deadliest accident in
aviation history.The aircraft involved, KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736, were, along with many other aircraft,
diverted to Tenerife from Gran Canaria Airport after a bomb exploded there. The threat of a second bomb forced the
authorities to close the airport while a search was conducted. So many airplanes were diverted to the smaller Tenerife
airport that controllers were forced to park many of them on the taxiway, thereby blocking it. Further complicating the
situation, while waiting for authorities to reopen Gran Canaria, a dense fog developed at Tenerife, greatly reducing
visibility. When Gran Canaria reopened, the parked aircraft blocking the taxiway at Tenerife required both 747s to taxi on
the only runway in order to get in position for takeoff. Due to the fog, neither aircraft could see the other, nor could the
controller in the tower see the runway or the two 747s on it. As the airport did not have ground radar, the only means for
the controller to identify the location of each airplane was via voice reports over the radio. As a result of several
misunderstandings in the ensuing communication, the KLM flight attempted to take off while the Pan Am flight was still
on the runway. The resulting collision destroyed both aircraft, killing all 248 aboard the KLM flight and 335 out of 396
aboard the Pan Am flight. 61 people aboard the Pan Am flight, including the pilots and flight engineer, survived the
disaster.[1] As the accident occurred on Spanish territory, that nation was responsible for investigating the accident.
Investigators from the Netherlands and the United States also participated. The investigation would reveal the primary
cause of the accident was the captain of the KLM flight took off without clearance from Air Traffic Control.[1] The
investigation would however specify that the captain did not intentionally take off without clearance, rather he fully
believed he had clearance to take off due to misunderstandings between his flight crew and ATC. [1] Dutch investigators
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would place a greater emphasis on this than their American and Spanish counterparts, [2] but ultimately KLM would admit
their crew was responsible for the accident, and the airline financially compensated the victims. [3]The accident had a large
influence on the industry, particularly in the area of communication. An increased emphasis was placed on using
standardized phraseology in ATC communication by both controllers and pilots alike, thereby reducing the chance for
misunderstandings. As part of these changes, the word "takeoff" was removed from general usage, and is only spoken by
ATC when actually clearing an aircraft to take off.[4] Less experienced flight crew members were encouraged to challenge
their captains when they believed something was not correct, and captains were instructed to listen to their crew and
evaluate all decisions in light of crew concerns. This concept would later be expanded into what is known today as Crew
Resource Management. CRM training is now mandatory for all airline pilots.
520 – Japan Airlines Flight 123 (Japan, 1985)
349 – 1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision (India, 1996)
346 – Turkish Airlines Flight 981 (Paris, 1974)
329 – Air India Flight 182 (Atlantic Ocean, 1985)
302 – 2003 Iran Ilyushin Il-76 crash (Iran, 2003)
301 – Saudia Flight 163 (Riyadh, 1980)
~300 – Air Africa Antonov An-32 (Kinshasa, 1996)
290 – Iran Air Flight 655 (Persian Gulf, 1988)
273 – American Airlines Flight 191 (Chicago, 1979)
228 – Air France Flight 447 (Atlantic Ocean, 2009)
168 – Caspian Airlines Flight 7908 (Tehran, Iran, 2009)
154 – Spanair Flight 5022 (Madrid, Spain, 2008)
152 – Airblue Flight 202 (Pakistan, 2010)
152 – Yemenia Flight 626 (Indian Ocean, 30 June 2009)
103 – Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771, (Libya, 12 May 2010)
96 – 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash (Smolensk, Russia, April 10, 2010)
90 – Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409, (Mediterranean Sea, 25 January 2010)
88 – Aeroflot Flight 821 (Perm, Russia, 2008)
80 – 2011 Royal Moroccan Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules crash, (Guelmim, Morocco, 2011)
79 – Korean Air Flight 803, (Tripoli, Libya, July 1989)
77 – Iran Air Flight 277, (Urmia Airport, Urmia, Iran, January 2011)
74 – Hewa Bora Airways Flight 952, (Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 8 July 2011)
68 – Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 6895, 24 August 2008
68 – Aero Caribbean Flight 883, 5 November 2010
50 – Continental Airlines Flight 3407 (Buffalo, 2009)
44 – Pamir Airways Flight 112 (Afghanistan, 2010)
44 – Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash (Yaroslavl, Russia, 7 September 2011)
42 – Henan Airlines Flight 8387, Lindu Airport, China, 24 August 2010
32 – United Nations Bombardier CRJ-100 crash (Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2011)
25 – Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 8968 (Off the coast of West Papua, Indonesia, 7 May 2011) [edit] Coal mine
disasters
Coal Disasters
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1,549 – Benxihu Colliery explosion, (China, 1942) Benxihu (Honkeiko) Colliery (simplified Chinese: 本溪湖煤矿;
traditional Chinese: 本溪湖煤礦), located in Benxi, Liaoning, China, was first mined in 1905. It started as a iron and coal
mining project under joint Japanese and Chinese control. As time passed, the project came more and more under Japanese
control. In the early 1930s, Japan invaded the north east of China and Liaoning province became part of the Japanese
controlled puppet state of Manchukuo. The Japanese forced the Chinese to work the colliery under very poor conditions.
Food was scarce and workers didn't have sufficient clothing.[1] Working conditions were harsh and diseases such as typhoid
and cholera flourished.[2] Typically miners worked 12 hour shifts or longer. The Japanese controllers were known to beat
workers with pick handles and the perimeter of the mine was fenced and guarded. Many describe the work as slave
labour.On April 26, 1942, a gas and coal-dust explosion in the mine killed 1,549, 34% of the miners working that day,
making it the worst disaster in the history of coal mining to date. The explosion sent flames bursting out of the mine shaft
entrance. Miners' relatives rushed to the site but were denied entry by a cordon of Japanese guards who erected electric
fences to keep them out. In an attempt to curtail the fire underground, the Japanese shut off the ventilation and sealed the
pit head. Witnesses say that the Japanese did not evacuate the pit fully before sealing it; trapping many Chinese workers
underground to suffocate in the smoke.[2] Thus the actions of the Japanese are blamed for needlessly increasing the death
toll. It took workers ten days to remove all the corpses and rubble from the shaft. The dead were buried in a mass grave
nearby. Many victims could not be properly identified due to the extent of the burns. The Japanese at first reported the
death toll to be just 34.[1] Initial newspaper reports were short, as little as 40 words, and downplayed the size of the disaster
as a minor event. Later the Japanese erected a monument to the dead. This stone gave the number of dead to be 1327. [3] The
true number is believed to be 1,549.[4] Of this number, 31 were Japanese, the rest Chinese.[2] The mine continued to be
operated by the Japanese until the end of World War II in 1945. Following the Japanese withdrawal, the workers took
control of the site. With the liberation after the war, the Soviet Union investigated the accident. They found that only some
of the workers died from the gas and coal-dust explosion. The Soviet report states that most deaths were of Carbon
Monoxide poisoning due to the closing of ventilation after the initial explosion.[2]
1,099 – Courrières mine disaster (Courrières, France, 10 March 1906)
687 – coal mine (Mitsubishi Hojo, Kyūshū, Japan, 15 December 1914)
682 – coal mine Laobaidong colliery coal dust explosion, (Datong China, 9 May 1960)
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472 – coal mine (Wankie, Rhodesia, 1972)
458 – Mitsui Miike Coal Mine disaster- (Mitsui Miike, Ōmuta, Fukuoka, Japan, 9 November 1963)
439 – Senghenydd Colliery Disaster (Senghenydd, Wales, 1913)
437 – coal mine (Coalbrook, South Africa, 1960)
422 – coal mine (New Yubari, Yubari, Hokkaidō, Japan, 28 November 1914)
405 – coal mine (Bergkamen, West Germany, 1946)
214 – coal mine (Sunjiawan, Fuxin, Liaoning, China, 15 February 2005)
181 – coal mine with flooding (Huayuan[disambiguation needed], Xintai, Shandong, China, August 17, 2007)
166 – coal mine (Chenjiashan, Tongchuan, Shaanxi, China, 28 November 2004)
159 – coal mine (Muchonggou, Shuicheng, Guizhou, China, 26 September 2000)
148 – coal mine (Daping, Tongchuan[disambiguation needed], Henan, China, 20 October 2004)
124 – coal mine (Chengzihe, Jixi, Heilongjiang, China, 20 June 2002)
123 – coal mine (Daxing, Xingning, Guangdong, China, 6 August 2005)
108 – coal mine (Ulyanovskaya, Novokuznetsk, Kuzbass Siberia, Russia, March 19, 2007)
105 – coal mine (Ruizhiyuan, Linfen, Shanxi, China, 5 December 2007)
101 – coal mine (methane explosion) (Zasyadko, Donetsk, Ukraine, 18 November 2007)
92 – coal mine (Gangzi, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China, July 22, 2001)
86 – coal mine (Luling coal mine, Hefei, Anhui, China, 13 May 2003)
83 – coal mine (Shenlong, Fukang, Xinjiang Uygur, China, 13 July 2005)
82 – coal mine (Barakova, Krasnodon, Ukraine, 11 March 2000)
73 – coal mine (San Fernando, Amaga, Antioquia, Colombia, 17 June 2010)[citation needed]
59 – coal mine (Xishui mine, Shanxi province, China, 20 March 2005)
59 – coal mine (Bettina, Orlová, Czech Republic, March 26, 1885)
54 – coal mine (Hlubina, Ostrava, Czech Republic, May 22, 1960)
54 – coal mine (Františka, Záluží[disambiguation needed], Czech Republic, , 1860)
52 – coal mine (Zasyadka, Donetsk, Ukraine, 19 August 2001)
45 – coal mine (Surran range, Quetta, Pakistan, 21 March 2011)
29 – coal mine Pike River Mine disaster (Greymouth, New Zealand, November 19, 2010)
29 – Upper Big Branch mine explosion (Montcoal, West Virginia, 5 April 2010)
24 – Nanshan Colliery disaster (Shanxi Province, China, 13 November 2006)
23 – methane explosion in Halemba coal mine (Ruda Śląska Poland 21 November 2006)
20 – 2009 Handlová mine blast (Handlová, Slovakia, August 10, 2009)
16 – coal mine (Ningxia Hui, China, 16 October 2008)
Explosions
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1,950 – Halifax Explosion, (Nova Scotia, Canada 1917) The Halifax Explosion occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917,
when the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French
cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, which accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in "The
Narrows" section of the Halifax Harbour. About 2,000 people were killed by debris, fires, or collapsed buildings and it is
estimated that over 9,000 people were injured.[2] The Halifax Explosion remains the world's largest man-made accidental
explosion.At 8:40 in the morning, the SS Mont-Blanc, chartered by the French government to carry munitions to Europe,
collided with the unloaded Norwegian ship Imo, chartered by the Commission for Relief in Belgium to carry relief
supplies. Mont-Blanc caught fire ten minutes after the collision and exploded about twenty-five minutes later (at 9:04:35
AM).[4] All buildings and structures covering nearly 2 square kilometres (500 acres) along the adjacent shore were
obliterated, including those in the neighbouring communities of Richmond and Dartmouth.[2] The explosion caused a
tsunami in the harbour and a pressure wave of air that snapped trees, bent iron rails, demolished buildings, grounded
vessels, and carried fragments of the Mont-Blanc for kilometres.
1,500 – Ammunition plant with facilities explode at Smederevo, outskirt of Belgrade, Serbia, June 8, 1941
1,200 – Explosion of ammunition on the Chinese troopship "Kuang Yuang", near Kiukiang, China, October 16, 1926
1,200 – Ammunition trucks explode near a train station (Cali, Colombia, 1956)
1,121 – Japanese battleship Mutsu, at Hashirajima harbour, 1943 due to magazine explosion.
1,100 – Lagos Armoury Explosion, (Lagos, Nigeria, 2002), many deaths were from drowning during the resulting panic
1,007 – Ammunition transporter exploded in Hamont, Belgium, November 18, 1918
843 – British dreadnought battleship HMS Vanguard (1909), propellant explosion, 1917
800 – Bombay Docks Explosion (Bombay, India, 1944)
738 – British pre-dreadnought battleship HMS Bulwark (1899), magazine explosion, 1914
234 – PetroChina Chuandongbei natural gas field explosion, Guoqiao, Kai County, Chongqing, China, December 2003
154 – Ryongchon disaster, (North Korea, 2004)
150 – Jaʿār munitions factory explosion (Abyan Governorate, Yemen, March 28, 2011)
140 – Sachangwan Molo tanker explosion Kenya 31 January 2009
117 – 2007 Maputo arms depot explosion at Mozambican Armed Forces ammunition in Laulane, Mozambique on March
22, 2007.[citation needed]
117 – Electrical transformer explosion, Dhaka, Bangladesh, June 3, 2010.
100 – NNPC oil pipeline explosion, which blasted a primary school at Ijegun, Nigeria, May 15, 2008.
98 – 8,800 gallons carrying fuel truck exploded and caught fire at Kagarko, Kaduna, Nigeria, March 28, 2007
90 – A truck carrying 3,800 gallons of gasoline with six vehicles crashed and exploded at Nosratabad, Sistan and
Baluchistan, Iran, June 20, 2004.
60 – Truck explosion in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur, China, (September 9, 2000)
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32 – 2009 Viareggio derailment, a gas train explosion, Italy, 2009
29 – Blast in ammunition depot in Albania, 2008
27 – LNG liquefaction plant explosion, Skikda, Algeria. 19 January 2004.
24 – Gas explosion in Ghislenghien, Belgium, July 30, 2004
22 – Fireworks factory (Enschede, Netherlands, 2000)
21 – Brazilian rocket explosion (Brazil, 2003)
18 – Mihăileşti explosion (Romania, 2004)
15 – BP Refinery, Isomerization Unit Explosion (killed 15 injured 180), Texas City, Texas USA March 23, 2005
14 – 2008 Georgia sugar refinery explosion (Port Wentworth, Georgia, United States, 2008)
13 - Munitions Dump explosion Evangelos Florakis Naval Base & Vassilikos power plant (, , July 11 2011)
11 – Deepwater Horizon oil spill, (Gulf of Mexico, near the Missipippi River Delta, United States Of America, May 2010)
Floods
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26,000 – Banqiao Dam collapse, Henan Province, China, August 1975 The Banqiao Reservoir Dam (simplified Chinese:
板桥水库大坝; traditional Chinese: 板橋水庫大壩; pinyin: Bǎnqiáo Shuǐkù Dàbà) is a dam on the River Ru in
Zhumadian Prefecture, Henan province, China. It infamously failed in 1975, causing more casualties than any other dam
failure in history, and was subsequently rebuilt. The Banqiao dam and Shimantan Reservoir Dam (simplified Chinese: 石
漫滩水库大坝; traditional Chinese: 石漫灘水庫大壩; pinyin: Shímàntān Shuǐkù Dàbà) are among 62 dams in Zhumadian
Prefecture of China's Henan Province that failed catastrophically or were intentionally destroyed in 1975 during Typhoon
Nina. The dam failure killed an estimated 171,000 people[citation needed]; 11 million people lost their homes. It also caused the
sudden loss of 18 GW of power[citation needed] , the equivalent of roughly 9 very large modern coal fired power stations or
about 20 nuclear reactors, equalling about 1/3 the peak demand on the UK National Grid.
23,000 - Armero Flood, Town of Armero, Colombia, November 13, 1985 ( Armero tragedy)
2,551 – North Sea flood of 1953, heavy storms caused devastation in the UK, Belgium and especially The Netherlands
(where 1,835 people were killed)
2,209 – Johnstown flood (dam break in Johnstown, Pennsylvania), 1889
2,000 ca. – Vajont Dam collapse, Italy, 1963
1,464 – New Orleans Flooding (New Orleans, Louisiana, Levee failure due to Hurricane Katrina, August 29, 2005.)
941 – Iruka pond collapsed in Inuyama, Aichi, Japan, on May 14, 1868.
488 – Mir Placalnizza dam failure and collapsed in Sgorigrad, Bulgaria on May 1, 1966.
421 – Malpasset dam collapse, France, 1959
375 – Levee of pond failure at Mitsubishi Osarizawa mine, Kazuno, northeastern Akita, Japan, 1936
135 – Santa Catarina floods (Santa Catarina state, Brazil, 2008)
99 – Situ Gintung dam failure, Indonesia, 2009
75 – 2009 Sayano-Shushenskaya hydro accident
35 – 2010–2011 Queensland floods following torrential rain, plus 9 missing, Australia, December 2010 – January 2011
Industrial accidents
16,000 – Bhopal Disaster (India, 1984) The Bhopal disaster also known as Bhopal Gas Tragedy was one of the world's
worst industrial catastrophes. It occurred on the night of December 2–3, 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL)
pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. A leak of methyl isocyanate gas and other chemicals from the plant
resulted in the exposure of hundreds of thousands of people. Estimates vary on the death toll. The official immediate death
toll was 2,259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release. [1]
Others estimate 3,000 died within weeks and another 8,000 have since died from gas-related diseases.[2][3] A government
affidavit in 2006 stated the leak caused 558,125 injuries including 38,478 temporary partial and approximately 3,900
severely and permanently disabling injuries.[4] UCIL was the Indian subsidiary of Union Carbide Corporation (UCC).
Indian Government controlled banks and the Indian public held 49.1 percent ownership share. In 1994, the Supreme Court
of India allowed UCC to sell its 50.9 percent share. Union Carbide sold UCIL, the Bhopal plant operator, to Eveready
Industries India Limited in 1994. The Bhopal plant was later sold to McLeod Russel (India) Ltd. Dow Chemical Company
purchased UCC in 2001. Civil and criminal cases are pending in the United States District Court, Manhattan and the
District Court of Bhopal, India, involving UCC, UCIL employees, and Warren Anderson, UCC CEO at the time of the
disaster.[5][6] In June 2010, seven ex-employees, including the former UCIL chairman, were convicted in Bhopal of causing
death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2,000 each, the maximum punishment
allowed by law. An eighth former employee was also convicted, but died before judgment was passed. [7]
2. 1,549 – Benxihu Colliery explosion, (China, 1942)
3. 568 – Texas City Disaster (Texas City, Texas, April 16 & 17, 1947)
4. 512 – Sumitomo Besshi bronze mine area where landslide with debris flow disaster, Niihama, Shikoku, Japan, 1899
5. 500+ – San Juanico Disaster (Mexico City, November 19, 1984)
6. 319 – Marie iron mine fire, Příbram, Czech Republic, May 31, 1892
7. 254 – Illegal Tashan mine collapsed with mud-rock flow at Xiangfen, Linfen, Shanxi, China (September 2008)
8. 245 – Kogushi sulfur mine collapse, western Gunma, Japan, 1937
9. 234 – PetroChina Chuandongbei natural gas field explosion, Guoqiao, Kai County, Chongqing, China, 2003
10. 220 – El Cobre talling dam and cooper mine failure by earthquake in Chile on March 28, 1965.
11. 65 – KTS Composite Textile factory fire, at Chittagong, Bangladesh on 24 February 2006.
12. 60 – Shahe iron mine caught fire, Hebei, China, November 22, 2004
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55 – Four-story Rosamor Furniture ameublements plant fire, Lissasfa, Casablanca, Morocco on April 25, 2008
29 – AZF factory explosion (chemical) , Toulouse, France, September 21, 2001
17 – Ganglu Iron and Steel Co Ltd., gas leak (Hebei, China, December 24, 2008)
15 – BP Americas Texas City isomerization unit explosion (Texas City, Texas, USA, March 23, 2005)
11 – BP Deepwater Horizon explosion (Gulf of Mexico, April 20, 2010)
5 – Xcel Energy Cabin Creek Hydroelectric Plant Fire (Georgetown, Colorado October 2, 2007)
Maritime
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1,565–4,400 – MV Doña Paz (Tablas Strait, Philippines, 1987). Estimates of casualties vary because of overloading and
unmanifested passengers; the official death toll was 1,565, with only 21 survivors; apparently the deadliest peacetime
shipping disaster ever. The MV Doña Paz was a Philippine-registered passenger ferry that sank after colliding with the MT
Vector on December 20, 1987. With a death toll of at most 4,375 people,[1] the collision resulted in the deadliest ferry
disaster in history. It was traveling from Leyte island to Manila, the country's capital. [2]
2,750–3,920 – SS Kiangya (off Shanghai, 1948). Estimates of casualties vary due to large number of stowaways on board.
1,863 – MV Joola (Senegal, 2002)
1,547 – SS Sultana (Mississippi River, 1865)
1,517 – RMS Titanic (North Atlantic, 1912)
1,159 – Toya Maru (Tsugaru Strait, 1954)
1,021 – SS General Slocum (New York, 1904)
1,018 – MS al-Salam Boccaccio 98 (Red Sea, 2006)
1,012 – RMS Empress of Ireland, (Saint Lawrence River, 1914)
c.1,000 – SS Hong Moh (South China Sea, 1921)
832 – MV Princess of Stars capsized by Typhoon Fengshen off Sibuyan Island, Philippines, June 21, 2008.
550 – Cahaya Bahari (off Sulawesi, Indonesia, 2000)
528 – MV Nazreen 1 (Chandpur, Bangladesh, July 2003)
461 – MV Senopati Nusantara (off Mandalika Island, Indonesia, 2006)
353 – SIEV-X (off Indonesia, 2001)
340 – MV Shalahuddin 2 (Meghna River, Bangladesh, 2002)
240+ – MV Teratai Prima sinking (near Sulawesi, Indonesia, January 11, 2009)
210 – Illegal African immigrants boat sank off Sfax, Tunisia, 2003
200 – Indonesian passenger ferry KMP Digul capsized in rough sea off Merakuke, Papua, Indonesia, July 2005.
192 – Two illegal immigrants boats sank off Gulf of Aden, Yemen, 2007
189 – MV Maharaj (Buriganga River, Bangladesh, 2005)
182 – Congo ferry Dieu Merci capsized at Mai-Ndombe Lake, Bandunu, Democratic Republic of Congo, November 27,
2003.
158 – Sierra Leone boat Amunafa capsized off coast Bailor, Sierra Leone, August 3, 2007
140 – Two African immigrants boat sank off Seferihisar, Turkey, 2007
131 – Chinese passenger boat Rong Jian capsized at Hejiang River, Rongshan, Sichuan, China, June 2000.
124 – Djibouti ferry Al Baraqua 2 capsized off Tadjoura, Djibouti, April 6, 2006
122+ – Russian river cruise ship Bulgaria capsized on the Kuybyshev Reservoir of the Volga River in Tatarstan, Russia,
July 10, 2011
120 – Ghanan motorboat capsized at Lake Volta, Jasikan, Ghana, April 10, 2006.
118 – Kursk (Barents Sea, 2000)
85 – Illegal African immigrants boat sank Mareg, Puntland, Yemen, 2003
81 – MS Express Samina (near Paros, Greece, 2000)
70 – Ming 361 (2003)
58 – Bahrain wooden plesure boat al-Dana capsized off Gulf of Bahrain, 2006
48 – Brazilian river boat Comandante Sales capsized at Solimoes River, on the outskirts of Manacapura, Amazonas, Brazil,
May 4, 2008.
46 – PCC-772 Cheonan Pohang class corvette (Baengnyeong-do island, South Korea, March 26, 2010)
42 – Masbate, Philippines (including 11 children) crowded Don Dexter Cathlyn, inter-island ferry was hit by a squall and
overturned; 76 of 119 passengers were rescued, but 10 were still missing, on November 4, 2008.
20 – Ethan Allen (Lake George (New York), 2 October 2005)
Nuclear and radiation accidents
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4,056 – Chernobyl disaster, Ukraine, April 26, 1986. 56 direct deaths and 4,000 extra cancer deaths. The Chernobyl
disaster (locally Катастрофа Чернобыля, Chornobyl Catastrophe) was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986
at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine (officially Ukrainian SSR), which was under the direct jurisdiction of the
central Moscow's authorities. An explosion and fire released large quantities of radioactive contamination into the
atmosphere, which spread over much of Western USSR and Europe. It is considered the worst nuclear power plant accident
in history, and is one of only two classified as a level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale (the other being the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster).[1] The battle to contain the contamination and avert a greater catastrophe ltimately
involved over 500,000 workers and cost an estimated 18 billion rubles, crippling the Soviet economy.[2] The disaster began
during a systems test on Saturday, 26 April 1986 at reactor number four of the Chernobyl plant, which is near the city of
Prypiat and within a close proximity to the administrative border with Belarus and Dnieper river. There was a sudden
power output surge, and when an emergency shutdown was attempted, a more extreme spike in power output occurred,
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which led to a reactor vessel rupture and a series of explosions. These events exposed the graphite moderator of the reactor
to air, causing it to ignite.[3] The resulting fire sent a plume of highly radioactive smoke fallout into the atmosphere and
over an extensive geographical area, including Pripyat. The plume drifted over large parts of the western Soviet Union and
Europe. From 1986 to 2000, 350,400 people were evacuated and resettled from the most severely contaminated areas of
Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine.[4][5] According to official post-Soviet data,[6][7] about 60% of the fallout landed in Belarus.
The accident raised concerns about the safety of the Soviet nuclear power industry, as well as nuclear power in general,
slowing its expansion for a number of years and forcing the Soviet government to become less secretive about its
procedures.[8][notes 1] The government coverup of the Chernobyl disaster was a "catalyst" for glasnost, which "paved the way
for reforms leading to the Soviet collapse."[9] Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus have been burdened with the continuing and
substantial decontamination and health care costs of the Chernobyl accident. A report of the International Atomic Energy
Agency,[7] examines the environmental consequences of the accident. Estimates of the number of deaths potentially
resulting from the accident vary enormously: Thirty one deaths are directly attributed to the accident, all among the reactor
staff and emergency workers.[10] A UNSCEAR report places the total confirmed deaths from radiation at 64 as of 2008. The
World Health Organization (WHO) suggests it could reach 4,000 civilian deaths, a figure which does not include military
clean-up worker casualties.[11] A 2006 report predicted 30,000 to 60,000 cancer deaths as a result of Chernobyl fallout. [12] A
Greenpeace report puts this figure at 200,000 or more.[13] A Russian publication, Chernobyl, concludes that 985,000
premature cancer deaths occurred worldwide between 1986 and 2004 as a result of radioactive contamination from
Chernobyl.[14]
200 – Mayak nuclear waste storage tank explosion, (Chelyabinsk, Soviet Union, 29 September 1957), 270,000 people were
exposed to dangerous radiation levels.
33 – Windscale, United Kingdom, October 8, 1957. Fire ignites plutonium piles and contaminates surrounding dairy farms.
17 – Instituto Oncologico Nacional of Panama, August 2000 -March 2001; patients receiving treatment for cancer receive
lethal doses of radiation.
13 – Radiotherapy accident in Costa Rica, 1996. (114 patients received an overdose of radiation).
11 – Radiotherapy accident in Zaragoza, Spain, December 1990. (27 patients were injured).
10 – Soviet submarine K-431 accident, August 10, 1985 (49 people suffered radiation injuries).
10 – Columbus radiotherapy accident, 1974–1976, 88 injuries.
9 – Soviet submarine K-27 accident, 24 May 1968. (83 people were injured).
8 – Soviet submarine K-19 accident, July 4, 1961. (More than 30 people were over-exposed to radiation).
8 – Radiation accident in Morocco, March 1984.
7 – Houston radiotherapy accident, 1980.
5 – Mihama Nuclear Power Plant accident, August 9, 2004. Hot water and steam leaked from a broken pipe.
5 – Lost radiation source, Baku, Azerbaidjan, USSR, October 5, 1982. 13 injuries.
4 – Goiânia accident, September 13, 1987 (249 people received serious radiation contamination).
4 – Radiation accident in Mexico City, 1962.
3 – SL-1 accident (US Army) 1961.
3 – Three deaths and ten injuries resulted in Samut Prakarn, Thailand when a radiation-therapy unit was dismantled,
February 2000.
2 – Tokaimura nuclear accident, nuclear fuel reprocessing plant (Japan, September 30, 1999).
Smog pollution
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2.
3.
4.
5.
4,000 – The Great Smog (London, December 5–9, 1952) The Great Smog of '52 or Big Smoke[1] was a severe air
pollution event that affected London, England, during December 1952. A period of cold weather, combined with an
anticyclone and windless conditions, collected airborne pollutants mostly from the use of coal to form a thick layer of smog
over the city. It endured from Friday 5 to Tuesday 9 December 1952, and then dispersed quickly after a change of weather.
Although it caused major disruption due to the effect on visibility, and even penetrated indoor areas, it was not thought to
be a significant event at the time, with London having experienced many smog events during the past, so called "pea
soupers". During the succeeding weeks however, medical reports estimated that 4,000 people had died prematurely and
100,000 more were made ill because of the smog's effects on the human respiratory tract. More recent research suggests
that the number of fatalities was considerably greater at about 12,000.[2] It is considered the worst air pollution event in the
history of the United Kingdom,[3] and the most significant in terms of its effect on environmental research, government
regulation, and public awareness of the relationship between air quality and health. [2] It caused several changes of practice
and regulations, including the Clean Air Act 1956.
2,200 – Coal smog (London, 1880)
160 – Smog (London, December 12–15, 1991)
60 – Meuse Valley Fog (Belgium, 1930)
50 – The 1948 Donora smog (Donora, Pennsylvania, October 27–31, 1948)
Space exploration
1.
7 – Space Shuttle Columbia disaster (over United States, 2003) The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on
February 1, 2003, when shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107, the Space Shuttle Columbia
disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in the death of all seven crew members.
Debris from Columbia fell to Earth in Texas along a path stretching from Trophy Club to Tyler, as well as into parts of
Louisiana.The loss of Columbia was a result of damage sustained during launch when a piece of foam insulation the size of
a small briefcase broke off from the Space Shuttle external tank (the 'ET' main propellant tank) under the aerodynamic
forces of launch. The debris struck the leading edge of the left wing, damaging the Shuttle's thermal protection system
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(TPS), which shields it from heat generated with the atmosphere during re-entry. While Columbia was still in orbit, some
engineers suspected damage, but NASA managers limited the investigation, on the grounds that little could be done even if
problems were found.[1][dead link] NASA's original shuttle design specifications stated that the external tank was not to shed
foam or other debris; as such, strikes upon the shuttle itself were safety issues that needed to be resolved before a launch
was cleared. Launches were often given the go-ahead as engineers came to see the foam shedding and debris strikes as
inevitable and unresolvable, with the rationale that they were either not a threat to safety, or an acceptable risk. The
majority of shuttle launches recorded such foam strikes and thermal tile scarring. [2] One of the most significant foam strikes
happened on STS-112, just two launches before, where a chunk of foam broke away from the ET bipod ramp and hit the
SRB-ET Attach Ring near the bottom of the left SRB causing a dent ~4" wide and 3" deep into the solid metal. [3] After that
mission, the situation was analyzed and NASA decided to press ahead under the justification that "The ET is safe to fly
with no new concerns (and no added risk)"[4] of further foam strikes, justification that was revisited while Columbia was
still in orbit and Chair of the Mission Management Team (MMT) Linda Ham re-assessed, stating that the “Rationale was
lousy then and still is”. Ham as well as Shuttle Program Manager Ron Dittemore had both been present at the October 31,
2002 meeting where this decision to continue with launches was made. [5] During re-entry of STS-107, the damaged area
allowed the hot gases to penetrate and destroy the internal wing structure, [6] rapidly causing the in-flight breakup of the
vehicle. An extensive ground search in parts of Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas recovered crew remains and many vehicle
fragments. Mission STS-107 was the 113th Space Shuttle launch. It was delayed 18 times[7] over the two years from its
original launch date of January 11, 2001, to its actual launch date of January 16, 2003. (It was preceded by STS-113.) A
launch delay due to cracks in the shuttle's propellant distribution system occurred one month before a July 19, 2002, launch
date. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) determined that this delay had nothing to do with the
catastrophic failure six months later.[7] The Columbia Accident Investigation Board's recommendations addressed both
technical and organizational issues. Space Shuttle flight operations were delayed for two years by the disaster, similar to
the Challenger disaster. Construction of the International Space Station was put on hold, and for 29 months the station
relied entirely on the Russian Federal Space Agency for resupply until Shuttle flights resumed with STS-114 and 41
months for crew rotation until STS-121. Major changes to shuttle operations, after missions resumed, included a thorough
on-orbit inspection to determine how well the shuttle's thermal protection system had endured the ascent, and keeping a
designated rescue mission at the ready in case irreparable damage was found. Also it had been decided that all missions
would be flown only to ISS so that the crew could use that spacecraft as a "safe haven" if need be. Later NASA decided it
would be an acceptable risk to make one exception to that policy for one final mission to repair Hubble in its high-altitude
low-inclination orbit.
7 – Space Shuttle Challenger disaster (over Florida, 1986)
3 – Soyuz 11 (space, 1971)
3 – Apollo 1 (Florida, 1967) - occurred on ground before launch
1 – Soyuz 1 (SE of Orenburg, Russia, 1967)
1 – X-15 Flight 191 (suborbital, crashed ~50 miles NE of Edwards AFB, 1967)
Sporting events
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1,112 – Upper tier collapse of the Circus Maximus, (Ancient Rome, c.140 AD) The Circus Maximus (Latin for great or
large circus, in Italian Circo Massimo) is an ancient Roman chariot racing stadium and mass entertainment venue located
in Rome, Italy. Situated in the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, it was the first and largest stadium in ancient
Rome and its later Empire. It measured 621 m (2,037 ft) in length and 118 m (387 ft) in width, and could accommodate
about 150,000 spectators.[1] In its fully developed form, it became the model for circuses throughout the Roman Empire.
The site is now a public park.
590 – Happy Valley Racecourse fire, (Happy Valley, Hong Kong, February 26, 1918) Happy Valley Racecourse
(Chinese: 快活谷馬場 or 跑馬地馬場) is one of the two racecourses for horse racing in Hong Kong. It is located in Happy
Valley on Hong Kong Island, surrounded by Wong Nai Chung Road and Morrison Hill Road. It was first built in 1845 to
provide horse racing for the British people in Hong Kong. Before it was built, the area was a swampland, but also the only
flat ground suitable for horse racing on Hong Kong Island. To make way for the racecourse, Hong Kong Government
prohibited rice growing by villages in the surrounding area. The first race ran in December 1846. Over the years, horse
racing became more and more popular among the Chinese residents. On 26 February 1918, there was a fire and at least 590
people died. By the next day as many as 576 definite deaths were reported by the Hong Kong Telegraph. [1] It was caused
by the collapse of a temporary grandstand, which knocked over food stalls and set bamboo matting ablaze. [2] It is a fire with
one of the highest casualties in Hong Kong history. The track was rebuilt in 1995, and became a world-class horse racing
facility. Several football, hockey and rugby fields are encircled by the horseracing track.
328 – Lima National Stadium tragedy, (Lima, May 24, 1964).
~200 – Collapse of wooden bleachers at Corralejas bullring/stadium, Sincelejo, Sucre, Colombia, January 20, 1980.
96 – Hillsborough stadium crush (Sheffield, England, 1989)
80+ – 24 hours of Le Mans auto race crash (Le Mans, France, 1955)
71 – Puerta 12 crush (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 23 June 1968)
67 – Luzhniki Disaster, football match crush (Moscow, USSR, 1982)
66 – Second Ibrox stadium disaster, stairway crowd crush (Glasgow, Scotland, 1971)
56 – Bradford City stadium fire (Bradford, England, 1985)
43 – Ellis Park Stadium Disaster, football match crush (Johannesburg, South Africa, 11 April 2001)
13 – Democratic Republic of Congo football league second division of Socozaki and Nyuki System match riot at Matokeo
stadium, Butembo, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, September 14, 2008.
8 – 2010 California 200 Off Road race, eight spectators killed when an off road truck rolled into the gallery.
Stampedes and panics
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4,000 – mass panic at air raid shelter, during Japanese bombing of Chongqing, most deaths caused by suffocation
(Chongqing, China, 1941) The bombing of Chongqing (Traditional Chinese: 重慶大轟炸, Simplified Chinese: 重庆大轰
炸, Japanese: 重慶爆撃, from 18 February 1938 to 23 August 1943) was part of a terror bombing operation conducted by
Imperial Japanese Army Air Service and Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service on the Chinese provisional capital of
Chongqing, authorized by the Imperial General Headquarters. A conservative estimate places the number of bombing runs
at more than 5,000, with more than 11,500 bombs dropped, mainly incendiary bombs. The targets were usually residential
areas, business areas, schools, hospitals (non-military targets). These bombings were probably aimed at cowing the Chinese
government, or as part of the planned Sichuan invasion.
1,426 – stampede by pilgrims inside a pedestrian tunnel (Mecca, 1990)
1,389 – Khodynka Tragedy at coronation of Nicholas II, (Moscow, 1896)
953 – Baghdad bridge stampede, (Baghdad, Iraq, 2005) (note: because the stampede was triggered by reports of a bombing,
this figure is also included in the higher estimate for casualties of the War in Iraq)
800 – 1954 Kumbh Mela stampede, crowd crush at religious festival (Allahabad, India, 1954)
357 – Phnom Penh stampede (Phnom Penh Cambodia, 2010)
362 – stampede at the stoning of the devil ritual (Mecca, 2006)
270 – stampede at the stoning of the devil ritual (Mecca, 1994)
258 – crowd crush at religious festival (Wai, Maharashtra, India, 2005)
251 – stampede at the stoning of the devil ritual (Mecca, 2004)
224 – 2008 Jodhpur stampede disaster, in Chamunda Devi temple, Rajasthan, India, September 30, 2008
162 – Naina Devi Temple stampede disaster at Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, India on August 3, 2008.
123 – Hearts of Oak vs. Kumasi Ashanti Kotoko soccer match crush (Accra, Ghana, 2001)
102 – 2011 Sabarimala stampede, broken out during an annual pilgrimage at Sabarimala, Kerala, India on January 14,
2011.
78 – PhilSports Arena stampede, Manila, Philippines, February 4, 2006
51 – Yemeni presidential candidate Ali Abdullah Saleh election rally stampede disaster, Zunjubar, Ibb Governorate,
Yemen, September 13, 2006.
42 – Ellis Park Stadium Disaster, Johannesburg, South Africa, April 11, 2001
37 – Mihong Park Lantern Festival stampede disaster, Miyun, Beijing, China, February 5, 2004.
36 – Modibo Keita Stadium stampede disaster in Bamako, Mali on February 21, 2011. [citation needed]
33 – Kumbh Mela bathing festival stampede disaster, Nasik, Maharashtra, India, August 26, 2003.
29 – Mosque stampede (Karachi, 2006)
26 – Djinuereber Mosque stampede disaster in Timbuktu, Tombouctou, Mali on February 2010.[citation needed]
23 – al-Mureikh Stadium stampede disaster, during graduation ceremony at Omdurman, Sudan on July 13, 2008.
21 – Love Parade stampede, Duisburg, Germany, July 24, 2010.
13 – News Divine nightclub stampede disaster, Nueva Atzacoalco, Mexico City, June 20, 2008.
13 – Throb Nightclub stampede disaster, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, March 24, 2000.
11 – Progressing firework festival that stampede and panics at Akashi Footbridge, Japan, (21 July 2001)
10 – All Africa Arts Hall concert stampede disaster, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia, February 10, 2008.
9 – Pearl Jam performance at Roskilde Festival, Denmark, June 30, 2000.
Structural collapses
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est. 20,000 dead or wounded – Fidenae amphitheatre collapse, 27AD. Fidenae, or Fidenes, home of the Fidenates, was an
ancient town of Latium, situated about 8 km north of Rome on the Via Salaria, which ran between it and the Tiber. As the
Tiber was the border between Etruria and Latium, the left-bank settlement of Fidenae represented an extension of Etruscan
presence into Latium. The site of the arx of the ancient town is probably to be sought on the hill on which lies the Villa
Spada, though no traces of early buildings or defences are to be seen: pre-Roman tombs are to be found in the cliffs to the
north. The later village lay at the foot of the hill on the eastern edge of the high-road, and its curia, with a dedicatory
inscription to M. Aurelius by the Senatus Fidenatium, was excavated in 1889. Remains of other buildings may also be
seen. Fidenae appears to have fallen permanently under Roman domination after its capture in 435 BC by the Romans, and
is spoken of by classical authors as a place almost deserted in their time. It seems, however; to have had some importance
as a post station. It is also notable for being the site of a deadly amphitheatre collapse. In 27 AD, an apparently cheaply
built wooden amphitheatre, constructed by an entrepreneur named Atilus, collapsed in Fidenae resulting in by far the worst
stadium disaster in history with as many as 20,000 dead and wounded out of the total audience of 50,000.[5] The emperor
Tiberius had banned gladiatoral games, it seems, and when the prohibition was lifted, the public had flocked to the earliest
events, and so a large crowd was present when the stadium collapsed. The Roman Senate responded to the tragedy by
banning people with a fortune of less than 400,000 sesterces from hosting gladiator shows, and also requiring that all
amphitheatres to be built in the future be erected on a sound foundation, inspected and certified for soundness. The
government also "banished" Atilius.[6]
est. 2,753 dead – World Trade Center (New York City, United States, September 11, 2001).
502 – Sampoong Department Store collapse (Seoul, South Korea, June 29, 1995).
~200 – Collapse of wooden bleachers at Corralejas bullring/stadium, Sincelejo, Sucre, Colombia, January 20, 1980.
153 – Illegally constructed nine-story buildings with Spectrum Sweater and Knitting factory collapse (Palash Bari, outskirt
of Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2005).
140 – Makahali River bridge collapsed, Baitadi, Makahali, Nepal, on November 19, 1974.
139 – a six-story apartment constructing by block collapsed at Karachi, Pakistan on September 13, 1976.
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135 – Hotel Royal Plaza collapse (Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, August 13, 1993).
125 – a wire rope style bridge collapsed over a swollen stream at Munnar, Kerala, India, November 8, 1984.
120 – a nuns school chapel collapsed at Biblian, Canar, Ecuador on February 1, 1963.
94 – Eleven-story apartment building collapsed at Konya, central Turkey, on February 2, 2004.
94 – Pétionville school collapse, (Pétionville, Haiti, November 7, 2008).
70 – 116 year-old Hintze-Ribeiro Bridge collapse, with a bus and three cars plunged into Douro River at Castelo de Paiva,
Aveiro, Portugal on March 4, 2001.
65 – Katowice Trade Hall roof collapse (Chorzów, Poland, 28 January 2006).
60 – Under construction Hau River bridge collapsed at Can Tho, Vinh Long, Vietnam, on September 26, 2007.
60 – Run Pathani bridge collapsed by flood swept in Mardan, Pashtunkhwa, Pakistan on August 2006.[citation needed]
60 – Underconstructing Tuojiang bridge collapsed in Fenghuang, Hunan, China on August 13, 2007.[citation needed
56 – Market roof collapse (Moscow, Russia, February 21, 2006).
51 – Moqattam Hill rockslide disaster in Manshiyet Nasser erea, Cairo, Egypt, September 6, 2008.
45 – Underconstructing Kota Chambal River Bridge collapse in Kota, Rajasthan, India on December 2009.[citation needed]
35 – Seven-story added illegally five story building collapse at Alexandria, Egypt, December 24, 2007.
23 – Versailles wedding hall, Jerusalem. Large portion of the third floor of the four-story building collapsed during a
wedding,May 24, 2001
20 – Chunchu suspension bridge collapse, Napalgunj, Birendranagar, Nepal, December 25, 2007. another 15 missing.
19 – a seven-story apartment building collapsed at Saadatabad, Teheran, Iran on July 1, 2008.
13 – I-35W Mississippi River bridge collapse, (Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2007)
11 – Petrobras 36 Oil Platform explosions (Brazil, 2001)
Structural fires
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2000+ – Church of the Company Fire (Santiago, Chile, December 8, 1863) The Church of the Company Fire (December
8, 1863) is the largest fire to have ever affected the city of Santiago, Chile. Between 2,000 and 3,000 people died, and it is
considered one of the worst fire disasters in history. The Church of the Company of Jesus, (Spanish: Iglesia de la
Compañía de Jesús) was a Jesuit church located in downtown Santiago, closely associated with the Marian cult. That day
was the celebration of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, one of the most popular festivities of the religious calendar,
and the temple was adorned with a profusion of gas lights and wall coverings. In the main altar, a large statue of the virgin
Mary stood over a half-moon that in itself was a huge candelabra. That night, the fire started a few minutes before 7 PM[1],
when a gas lamp at the top of the main altar ignited some of the veils that adorned the walls. Somebody tried to put it out
by smothering it with another cloth, but managed to only make the fire jump over to the rest of the veils and from there on
to the wood roof. The mostly women attendees panicked and tried to escape but the side doors had been closed in order to
leave space to accommodate more people (they only could be opened inwards), leaving the main entrance as the only exit.
Upon being notified of the tragedy, U.S. Envoy to Chile Thomas H. Nelson rushed to the scene and assisted in rescue
operations. Several days after the fire, Nelson was recognized as a "true hero of Chile." The big hoop skirts worn at the
time made escape very difficult if not impossible, causing the people at the front to fall down and to be trampled by the
ones behind. Very soon the main entrance was blocked by a human wall of bodies, impeding both the exit of the ones
trapped inside, and entrance to the rescuers. The main tower of the church was built of wood (while the rest of the church
was solid masonry) and finally collapsed inwards around 10 PM[1], putting an end to the few remaining survivors.
Aftermath Between 2,000 and 3,000 people perished in the fire, in a city that at the time had about 100,000 inhabitants.
Entire families were wiped out. The clean-up of the bodies took about ten days, and since most of the bodies were burned
beyond recognition, they were placed in a mass grave at the Cementerio General de Santiago. The remaining walls of the
church were torn down, and a garden was planted in the place, with a statue placed at the site where the main altar used to
be. The garden and the statue still exist. At present the statue is part of the old Congressional gardens. A copy of the statue
is located at the main entrance of the Cementerio General de Santiago. The Church bells were sold for scrap and recovered
and made their way to Oystermouth, Swansea, Wales, where they are still used today for calling people to worship. A
consultation is being considered for their return to Santiago.[2] The tragedy, and the fact that one of the contributing factors
was the lack of an organized fire-brigade, motivated José Luis Claro y Cruz, to organize the first Volunteer Firemen's
Corps in Santiago, on December 20 of the same year. Fire brigades in Chile, even today, are still made up only of unpaid
volunteers.
2000 – Theater fire (Kamli[disambiguation needed], China, 1893)
1670 – Theater fire (Canton, China, May 25, 1845)
900 – Theater fire (Shanghai, China, June 1871)
800 – Lehman Theater fire (St. Petersburg, Russia, 1836)
694 – Cinema fire (Xinjiang, China, 1977)
658 – Antoung Movie Theater fire (China, February 13, 1937)
650 – Korean National Theater fire (Kyoeng, Korea, April 1888)
602 – Iroquois Theater Fire (Chicago, Illinois, December 30, 1903)
600 – Theater fire (Tientsin, China, May 1872)
530 – Kanungu church fire (Kanungu, Uganda, March 17, 2000)
396 – Paraguay supermarket fire (Asunción, Paraguay, August 1, 2004)
309 – Dongdu Commercial shopping center fire (Luoyang, China, December 25, 2000)
198 – Daegu Subway Fire (Daegu, South Korea, 2003)
194 – República Cromagnon nightclub fire (Buenos Aires, Argentina, December 30, 2004)
153 – Perm Lame Horse club fire, (Perm, Russia, December 4, 2009)
100 – The Station nightclub fire, (West Warwick, Rhode Island, 2003)
59 (to 61) – Santika 2009 Bangkok nightclub fire (Bangkok, Thailand, January 1, 2009)
19.
20.
21.
22.
44 – Myojo 56 building fire, (Tokyo, Japan, September 1, 2001)
24 – 2009 Nakumatt supermarket fire, Nairobi, Kenya, January 2009
21 – Hostel for homeless fire, Kamień Pomorski, Poland, April 13, 2009
19 – Calderón Guardia Hospital fire, San José, Costa Rica, July 12, 2005
Train accidents and disasters
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~1,700 - Queen of the Sea rail disaster (Sri Lanka, 2004) Queen of the Sea rail disaster was a rail disaster with the highest
count of deaths in history. It occurred when a crowded passenger train was destroyed on a coastal railway in Sri Lanka by
the tsunami which followed the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake, and resulted in the greatest loss of life in railroad history.
More than 1,700 people died, much higher than the previous rail disaster with most fatalities, the Bihar train disaster in
India in 1981.
800–1000 – Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne derailment (France, 1917)
600–1000 – Ciurea rail disaster (Romania, 1917)
500-800 – Bihar train disaster (Bihar, India, 1981)
600+ – Guadalajara train disaster (Mexico, 1915)
575 – Ufa train disaster (Russia, 1989)
521-600+ – Balvano train disaster (Italy, 1944)
200-500+ – Torre del Bierzo rail disaster (Spain, 1944)
428 – Awash rail disaster (Awash, Afar, Ethiopia, 1985)
383 – Al Ayatt train disaster (Egypt, 2002)
320 – Nishapur train disaster (Iran, 2004)
281 – Igandu train disaster (Tanzania, 2002)
192 – Muamba rail disaster (Mozambique, 2002)
155 – Kaprun disaster (Austria, 2000)
154 – Ryongchon disaster (North Korea, 2004)
148 – Gyaneshwari Express train derailment, (India, 2010)
132 – Ghotki rail crash (Sindh, Pakistan, 2005)
130+ – Rafiganj train disaster (India, 2002)
114+ – Veligonda train disaster (India, 2005)
107 – Amagasaki rail crash (Japan, 2005)
100+ – Benaleka train crash, (Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2007)
Other accidents
200+ – Landslide on the road between San Francisco and Mocoa in Colombia, 1989[citation needed]
90 – Frank Slide (Frank, Alberta, 29 April 1903)
67 – Po Shan Road landslide, (Mid-levels, Hong Kong, 18 June 1972)
64 – Sverdlovsk anthrax leak (Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, April 2, 1979)
48 – Vostok rocket explosion (Plesetsk spacecenter, Russia, March 18, 1980)
30 – Tram derailment (Ústí nad Labem, Czechoslovakia, 13 July 1947)
15 – Tram derailment (Szczecin, Poland, 7 December 1967)
13 – Tram derailment (Gothenburg, Sweden, 12 March 1992)
10 – 2011 Saxony-Anhalt train accident, January 29, 2011
9 – June 22, 2009 Washington Metro train collision, June 22, 2009
8 – Avalanche, Lewes, Sussex, England, 27 December 1836. Worst British avalanche disaster.
7 – 87-Automobile pile-up on Highway 401 freeway just east of Windsor Ontario, Canada after an unusually thick fog
from Lake Saint Clair, September 3 (Labour Day) 1999.
13. 3 – May 10, 2007 The 7 car crash on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge was the worst incident in the spans history, May 10, 2007
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