Last week’s deadly high-speed railway accident in China has unleashed an outpouring of anger against the government – and also prompted Beijing officials to issue an apology for the tragic crash.
However, in terms of fatalities (35 dead and 200 injured), the Wenzhou collision is nowhere near to being the worst railway disaster in history.
Here are ten of the very deadliest tragedies involving railways:
When a cooking glass cylinder exploded in a carriage of a passenger train travelling from Cairo, Egypt to Luxor in February 2002, it erupted into a fire that spread through the entire 11-carriage locomotive.
Officially, 383 people died (all Egyptian nationals), but many people believe that it a gross under-estimate. Some believe as many as 1000 probably died.
Creative CommonAt least 428 people died and 500 were injured when a train derailed at Awash, Ethiopia in January 1985. Four or the five carriages of the train of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway plunged into a ravine.
It is believed to be the worst railway disaster in African history and was likely caused by excessive speed.
Creative CommonIn January 1944, three trains collided inside a tunnel near the village of Torre del Bierzo in the El Bierzo region of León province in northwestern Spain.
Although officials said 78 people died, the true death toll is believed to be between 200 and 500.
The fire caused by the massive crash raged for two days, precluding any rescue attempt or identification of bodies.
The disaster received little publicity at the time due to the censorship imposed by Francisco Franco’s Fascist government.
Creative CommonIn March 1944, 426 people died of carbon monoxide poisoning because they were illegally riding a steam freight train when it stalled in the Armi tunnel, near the town of Balvano in southern Italy.
Some believe as many as 600 people may have died.
Creative CommonThe deadliest railway accident in Russian history occurred in June 1989 when a train exploded on the Kuybyshev Railway about 31 miles from the city of Ufa.
The inferno was caused when a leaking liquefied gas pipeline created a flammable cloud that was ignited by sparks created by two passing passenger trains.
Most tragically, many of the dead were children who were going to (or coming back from) a Black Sea holiday.
Creative CommonMore than 600 people died in January 1915 when the engineer of an overcrowded train moving between Colima and Guadalajara in Mexico lost control during a steep decline. The entire vehicle plunged into a deep canyon.Creative CommonAt least 500, perhaps as many as 800, people died in Bihar, India in June 1981 when a train derailed between the towns of Mansi and Saharsa and plunged into the river Bagmati whilst crossing a bridge.Creative CommonDuring World War I, as many as 1000 people died as a result of a train derailment and subsequent fire at the Ciurea train station Romania in January 1917.
Some of the dead were wounded Russian soldiers.
Creative CommonThe worst rail disaster in European history occurred in December 1917 when between 800 and 1000 French soldiers returning home after fighting in Italy were killed as a high-speed derailment caused a horrific crash and fire on the Culoz–Modane railway line.Creative Common
The worst railway disaster in world history happened when an overcrowded passenger train moving along coastal Sri Lanka was hammered by the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004. At least 1,700 people perished.
Creative Common
