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Integrated Wisdom

The Deadliest Train Wrecks

Gaisal, India — 1999

On August 2, two trains with a combined 2,500 passengers collided at a remote train station in Gaisal. The accident resulted from a signaling error that put both trains, unknown to their conductors, on the same track. The trains were traveling at such high speeds that they actually exploded on impact. Passengers were thrown into surrounding buildings and fields by the force of the explosion.

Rescue efforts were hampered by wreckage, heavy rains, fire and by the remoteness of the station — a 14 hour drive from Calcutta. The official death toll was set at 285 killed and over 300 injured. However, unofficial estimates put the number of deaths over 1,000, because the trains were crowded and likely had a good number of ticketless travelers.

 

The station master of Gaisal, responsible for the signaling error, later committed suicide.

 

Baku, Azerbaijan — 1995 
During rush hour on October 28, an electrical fault caused a fire to break out on a Baku Metro subway train. The train had five fully loaded cars and lost power between stations. Within minutes, the train began to fill with smoke and carbon dioxide from burning synthetic materials. Passengers were suffocating and were desperate to evacuate, but because of difficulty opening the doors they were forced to smash the windows and climb out.
Once in the tunnel, the ventilation system had been switched to exhaust mode and the smoke and poisonous gas flowed in the direction of the evacuation. According to official reports, the fire caused the death of 286 passengers, including 28 children, and three rescue workers, while an additional 270 people were injured. The majority of the victims had died inside the train, many crushed or trampled to death. About 40 bodies were found inside the tunnel, many of whom were electrocuted when they grabbed onto cables to escape the blazing train.
Sukkur, Pakistan — 1990 
The train was on a 500-mile overnight run on January 4, with more passengers than its 1,408-seat capacity. It was supposed to bypass the village of Sangi, but was erroneously switched onto a side rail where an empty 67-car freight train was parked. It was traveling at about 35 miles per hour when it collided. The first three cars, each with a seating capacity of about 88 passengers, were crushed, and the next two badly damaged. Bodies, baggage and debris were strewn throughout the wreckage. It was reported that 307 people were killed and seven hundred injured. Most of the dead were in the first three cars and many passengers in the next two were seriously injured. Three staff on duty at Sangi station were charged with manslaughter.
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