The most terrible and expensive disasters claim thousands of victims and lead to multi-million and multi-billion dollar losses. Such stories form the basis of films and necessarily go down in history. Today we will tell about 10 of the most destructive disasters in the history of the world.
10. Shipwreck of the liner "Titanic"
North Atlantic. Losses: $ 150 million
The creators of the Titanic were sure of its unsinkability, since at that time the steamer was the most powerful ship. But he did not live even five days. The liner was put into operation on April 10, and on the 15th it collided with an iceberg. At the beginning of the 20th century, this was the largest disaster.
9. Accident at the Wiehltal bridge
Gummersbach, Germany. Losses: $ 358 million
A sports car collided with an overflowing fuel tanker at full speed. It caught fire and exploded, damaging the bridge. It is good that nearby houses were not damaged, the authorities spent more than three hundred million dollars only on the restoration of the bridge and the road.
8. California train collision
Los Angeles, USA. Losses: $ 500 million
In 2008, on September 12, two trains collided on one of the California Railways. The accident not only damaged vehicles, but also injured passengers. Of these, twenty-five people died, 135 were wounded. The train manufacturer Metrolink suffered colossal losses, including allocating funds to compensate the families of the victims. Experts considered that the cause of the crash was negligence: the driver was distracted by his mobile phone while driving.
7. The crash of the stealth bomber B-2
Guam Island, Pacific Ocean. Losses: $ 4 billion
A B-2 military aircraft, designed with stealth technology, crashed on the island of Guam on February 23, 2008. Fortunately, both pilots managed to eject and survived thanks to this, but the plane burned to the ground. The experts called the reason a malfunction and, as a result, incorrect readings of the air pressure receiver sensors. Today it is the first accident among such bombers and the most expensive plane crash in the world.
6. Oil leak from the tanker Exxon Valdez
Alaska. Losses: $ 2.5 billion
Despite the fact that the Exxon Valdez oil spill is not the largest release of fuel into the sea, this accident is considered one of the largest, as it happened far from the coast, in a hard-to-reach place, and huge sums were spent on the elimination of the oil slick. In total, about 260 thousand barrels of oil have spilled into the sea. Several reasons have been identified, mainly the human factor.
5. Combustion on an oil platform
North Sea, Pipfer Alpha platform. Losses: $ 3.4 billion
A miscalculation by the technical staff of the oil platform led to an explosion of hydrocarbons and a fire at the site, supported by gas supplied through the pipelines. 167 workers were killed. It is considered one of the largest disasters in the oil industry.
4. The accident on the space shuttle "Challenger"
Florida, USA. Losses of $ 5.5 billion
Space shuttle Challenger was en route for only 73 seconds, after which it collapsed due to an explosion of a fuel tank.7 crew members were killed. It happened in 1986.
3. Accident on the tanker Prestige
Bay of Biscay. Losses: $ 12 billion
In 2002, another oil tanker exploded, causing an environmental disaster off the coast of Europe. This time it was the Prestige tanker, from which the largest oil spill occurred - 77,000 tons. The accident was provoked by a strong storm, due to which a crack of 35 meters formed on board, later the sea vessel split in two and sank.
2. Explosion on the shuttle "Columbia"
Losses: $ 13 billion
Another shuttle caused huge losses to the Americans. Unlike the "Challenger", he managed to visit space 28 times, but the 29th launch was his last. The shuttle began to collapse while entering the dense layers of the atmosphere, after which all seven astronauts died. The cause of the accident is technological failures.
1. The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
Pripyat, Ukraine. Losses: $ 200 billion
The explosion of the fourth power unit due to the carelessness of the employees led to the explosion of the power plant (1986), the consequences of which are still felt by the inhabitants of the whole world. It is believed that this is the largest accident in the nuclear power industry, not only in terms of the number of alleged victims, but also in terms of environmental and economic damage. $ 200 billion is just a rough estimate of clean-up costs.