Top 10 Deadliest Train Disasters in History
10.
Al Ayyat Train Disaster – Egypt, 2002 (383
Casualties)
At 2:00 in the morning on February 20, 2002,
a gas cylinder exploded in the fifth carriage
of an Egyptian train.
The enveloping fire quickly spread to the
other carriages, as the train kept speeding
along its tracks until two hours later when
the driver finally stopped.
In the end, seven carriages were burnt to
cinders, and almost 400 people lost their
lives.
The number of fatalities in this disaster
was heavily contested however, as the full
passenger list was absent.
Also, due to the intensity of the fire, many
of the corpses were burnt to ash, making identification
impossible.
Furthermore, the train was overloaded and
it is believed that many passengers were killed
when they jumped from the burning train.
Though 383 is the official toll, many consider
an amount of 1000 casualties to be more accurate.
9.
Awash Rail Disaster – Ethiopia, 1985 (428
Casualties)
The worst train disaster in the history of
Africa occurred on January 14, 1985, close
to the town of Awash.
The town lies above a ravine on the Awash
River.
It was on nearing this town that the express
train derailed after the engineer failed to
reduce speed at the curving bridge, plunging
the train’s carriages into the ravine.
Of the estimated 1,000 passengers onboard
the train, 428 were killed and almost all
of the remaining passengers were badly injured.
After the horrific accident, the train’s
engineer was arrested and charged with failing
to reduce speed on approaching a curve.
8.
Torre del Bierzo Rail Disaster – Spain,
1944 (200-500+ Casualties)
On January 3, 1944, near the village of Torre
del Bierzo in Spain, a runaway mail train
sped into tunnel No. 20.
Ahead of it was a shunting engine with 3 carriages
trying to get out of harm’s way.
Two of these carriages were still inside the
tunnel when the mail train struck.
From the opposite direction, a coal train
with 27 loaded wagons were approaching.
The driver of the shunting engine tried to
warn the coal train, but it still slammed
into the shunting locomotive.
The resulting fire burned for two days.
As many people traveled without tickets, and
the fire decimated almost all of the human
remains, the true number of passengers on
board was hard to estimate, but survivors
claimed that the train was packed, as many
were travelling to a Christmas fair.
7.
Balvano Train Disaster – Italy, 1944 (521-600+
Casualties)
During WWII, severe wartime shortages led
to considerable black market trade.
By 1944, opportunists and budding entrepreneurs
would stow away on freight trains to get to
supplier’s farms.
During this time, there were also critical
shortages of high quality coal.
The burning of inferior substitutes produced
massive amounts of odorless carbon monoxide
gas.
On March 2, 1944, the substantially overloaded
locomotive No. 8017 stalled inside a steep
tunnel.
Its crew and passengers, including several
hundred stowaways, were overcome by the fumes.
The only survivors were those who happened
to travel in the last few carriages that remained
in the open air when the train stalled.
6.
Ufa Train Disaster – Russia, 1989 (575+
Casualties)
The most deadly railway accident in Soviet
history occurred on June 4th, 1989.
A leak in the LPG pipeline caused a massive
amount of propane gas to settle in a gully
between the towns of Asha and Ufa.
When engineers noticed the drop in pressure,
they simply increased the pressure to its
normal levels instead of searching for possible
leaks.
At around 1:15, two trains carrying more than
1200 passengers, many of whom were children,
passed each other.
The sparks created by their passing ignited
the highly flammable cloud and resulted in
an explosion that could be seen from 95 miles
away.
The resulting fireball fanned out for 1 mile,
leveled trees for 2.4 miles, and destroyed
both trains.
5.
Guadalajara Train Disaster – Mexico, 1915
(600+ Casualties)
In 1915 the Mexican revolution was in full
swing.
President Venustiano Carranza ordered that
the families of his troops be moved from to
Guadalajara, his newly captured stronghold.
On January 22 1915, the specially adapted
train, with its 20 grossly overloaded cars,
departed from Colima.
It is said that the cars were so stuffed with
humanity, passengers were even clinging to
the undercarriages and roofs.
While going down a steep descent, the engineer
lost control of the train.
The train kept on gathering speed as it negotiated
its way down the tracks and finally plummeted
into a deep ravine.
Less than a third of its official passenger
count survived the accident.
4.
Bihar Train Disaster – India, 1981 (500-800
Casualties)
On June 6th 1981, during India’s monsoon
season, a nine-car train that was carrying
approximately 1,000 passengers plunged into
the Baghmati River.
The conditions that day were particularly
rainy and windy, and the river’s water levels
were far higher than normal.
As the train neared the bridge that crosses
over the river, a cow crossed the tracks.
In his attempt to avoid hitting the cow, the
engineer braked too hard, causing the carriages
to slide on the wet tracks and derail into
the water.
Help was hours away, and most of the passengers
had drowned or been swept away by the time
rescue services arrived.
More than 300 bodies were never recovered.
3.
Ciurea Rail Disaster – Romania, 1917 (600-1000
Casualties)
During WWI, a passenger train suffered brake
failure whilst descending down a very steep
bank close to Ciurea Station.
The 26-carriage train carried refugees and
wounded soldiers who were trying to flee the
German advance.
The engineers tried their best to slow the
train, throwing it in reverse and operating
the sanding equipment to increase the grip
of the wheels, but the train only gathered
speed.
To prevent an accident with a second train
at the bottom of the bank, the runaway train
was switched onto a loop.
Due to the high speed, the runaway train unfortunately
derailed and caught fire, killing hundreds
on board.
2.
Saint Michel-de-Maurienne Derailment, France,
1917 (800-1000 Casualties)
On December 12, 1917, almost 1,000 French
soldiers were returning home for the Christmas
season.
Due to nationwide shortages in both equipment
and locomotives, they were carried in two
trains coupled together and pulled by only
one engine.
Of the train’s nineteen carriages, only
the first three had automatic air brakes;
the rest were hand braked or had none.
While descending down the valley on the French
side of the Alps, the driver applied the brakes,
but the train continued gathering speed.
As the brakes overheated, fires broke out
under the carriages.
After 4 miles, the first carriage derailed
and the rest of the carriages slammed into
it, all catching fire within minutes.
Due to the intensity of the fire, only 425
bodies from the close to 1000 fatalities could
be identified.
1.
Sri Lanka Tsunami Rail Disaster, 2004 (1,700+
Casualties)
On December 26, 2004, a sea-floor earthquake
northwest of Sumatra produced a gigantic tsunami
that killed approximately 280,000 people.
On that fateful day, the “Queen of the Sea”
was packed with more than 1,500 passengers.
The train was 217 yards from the shore when
the first wave struck.
The water immediately stopped the train.
Local residents and passengers, thinking the
train would be a safe haven, climbed on top
of it and hid behind it.
The second wave was much larger; it tore the
train off its tracks and rolled the carriages
until it came to a halt.
Those not crushed by the train quickly drowned
as they lay trapped inside the cars.
Only a handful of passengers survived.
