On July 24, tragedy struck in Spain when a passenger train traveling at twice the posted speed limit, derailed and smashed into a security wall killing at least 80 people. Security camera footage shows the carriages starting to buckle as the driver took the bend at high speed. The train erupted into a fiery horror scene. Earlier this month, a town in rural Quebec, Canada lost dozens of buildings when an oil tanker derailed and exploded. These are a few of the worst train crashes that have occurred in the last decade.
Canada: July 6, 2013
A Quebec town is devastated when a driverless oil tanker train derails then explodes about 155 miles east of Montreal. Fire spreads to dozens of buildings in the town’s historic district forcing the evacuation of 2,000 people in Lac-Megantic. Five are killed and about 40 people are declared missing.
India: July 30, 2012
A fire breaks out in the wee hours of the morning on a high-speed train traveling the New Delhi to Chennai route killing 32 people. One of the largely metal carriage was completely destroyed as rescuers fought fierce temperatures to rescue victims.
Argentina: Feb. 22, 2012
A crowded train of over 1,000 passengers fails to break as it arrives at central Buenos Aires station of Once. The train, traveling at 16 mph, hit the buffers crushing the motor and two cars. The accident killed 51 people and injured over 700 more.
China: July 23, 2011
Two trains collide on China’s new high-speed rail system killing at least 40 and injuring hundreds more. One train rammed into the back of a stalled train, causing six cars to derail and four to fall from the bridge. Right after the incident, excavators start to bury the wreckage, causing public outcries of a coverup. News also leaks that propaganda authorities told Chinese media to downplay the tragedy.
India: July 10, 2011
A passenger train derailment in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh results in 69 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
India: July 19, 2010
An express train in West Bengal, India smashes into the rear a stationary train at a station in Birbhum, north of Calcutta, leaving 63 dead and roughly 90 people hurt.
Republic of Congo: June 21, 2010
An overcrowded train derails plummeting four railcars into a ravine in a remote area in the south injuring 667 and killing 56. The accident occurred as the train rounded a bend.
India: May 28, 2010
A passenger train derails smashing into a freight train near Calcutta, leaving 146 dead, injuring hundreds more. Maoists rebels are blamed.
China: April 28, 2008
A collision between two trains in eastern China leaves at least 70 dead after railcars jumped the tracks and crashed into a ditch.
Egypt: Aug. 21, 2006
Two commuter trains sharing the same track as they head south to Cairo collide just north of the capital city killing 58 people.
India: Oct. 29, 2005
A derailment outside of Hyderabad in the southeast leaves 110 dead.
Pakistan: July 13, 2005
More than 1,000 people are injured and 150 died when three passenger trains collide near the central city of Ghotki.
Japan: April 25, 2005
A packed commuter train derails into a residential building outside Osaka killing 107 people. It takes two days to extract the lead car from the building’s parking garage. The train, running 90 minutes behind schedule, appeared to be speeding. The 23-year-old driver was killed in the incident.
North Korea: April 22, 2004
Two trains, one carrying gas and the other volatile chemical fertilizer, crash near the Chinese border killing at least 150 people with thousands injured, according to South Korea news reports. North Korean authorities cut phone lines shortly after the incident to prevent further details from leaking out of the country.
Iran: Feb. 18, 2004
A total of 328 people die after a train carrying fuel and fertiliser explodes near to the northeastern city of Neishabour.
India: June 22, 2003
Bad weather causes a train derailment in the western state of Maharashtra, killing 51.
Zimbabwe: Feb. 1, 2003
February 1: A passenger train and freight train carrying flammable material collide near the town of Dete in the west of the country. A human error at the track signals sent both trains onto the same track.
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