Freak Train Accident
Waiouri, North Island, New Zealand
December 24, 1953
A highly unusual chain of events caused an improbable disaster which left 151 people dead in New Zealand on December 24, 1953. A lake and a glacier laid at the top of Mount Ruapehu, a 9,000 foot volcano. A minor eruption of the volcano sent the lake waters surging down the mountain. The water slammed into the Tangiwai Railroad Bridge. The bridge was weakened so that when the Wellington to Auckland express train came to it, it gave way, sending six of the nine cars plunging into the flood water. They sank almost immediately. Out of the 285 passengers on board, 151 died, and many of the bodies were never recovered. Some of the train cars were later found many miles downstream from the bridge. It is estimated that millions of gallons of water had been released from the lake due to the eruption. However, other than that done to the railroad bridge, there was no other damage. The water simply flowed into the Whangaehu River and out to sea. |
