Miscellaneous Disasters

1952

Dec. 4–7, London, England: high-pressure system settled over London, trapping pollution near the ground. Some 4,000 people died in “Great Smog,” mostly from respiratory and cardiac distress.

1981

July 18, Kansas City, Mo.: suspended walkway in Hyatt Regency Hotel collapsed; 113 dead, 186 injured.

1982

Sept. 29–Oct. 1: seven people in the Chicago area were killed after taking Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide. 31 million bottles of Tylenol were eventually taken off the market. The murderer was never caught.

1990

July 2, Mecca, Saudi Arabia: a stampede in a 1,800-foot-long pedestrian tunnel leading from Mecca to a tent city for pilgrims resulted in the deaths of 1,426 pilgrims.

1991

Nov. 29, nr. Coalinga, Calif.: a massive traffic accident during a severe dust storm involved 104 vehicles in a pileup on Interstate 5; 17 killed.

1995

June 29, Seoul, Korea: five-story wing of Sampoong Department Store collapsed, killing at least 206 people, injuring 910 others.

1996

May 10–11, Mt. Everest, Nepal: 8 climbers died near summit during storm on mountain. A total of 15 climbers died that season, the worst single loss of life on Everest.

1997

April 15, Mecca, Saudi Arabia: fire and stampede in pilgrim's encampment killed 217 and injured at least 1,300.

2004

Feb. 1, Mecca, Saudi Arabia: a stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage, during the stone-throwing ritual, killed 251 pilgrims.

2005

Aug. 31, Baghdad, Iraq: rumor of a bomber led to a stampede of Shiite pilgrims on a bridge over the Tigris, killing more than 950.

2006

Jan. 12, Mecca, Saudi Arabia: a stampede by pilgrims on the annual hajj killed at least 360.

Jan. 28, Katowice, Poland: 67 people died from the collapse of the roof of. the International Exhibition Hall. There had been 500 people inside at the time.

Feb. 21, Moscow, Russia: a market roof collapsed, killing 56 people.

April 17, Mexico: an overcrowded tour bus returning from a religious festival veered off the road and plunged down a ravine, killing 47.

2007

June 17, Nashville, Tenn.: A race-car driver performing a stunt at a children's charity event lost control of his car and crashed into bystanders, killing 6.

Aug. 1, Minneapolis, Minn.: An eight-lane interstate bridge packed with cars broke into sections and collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing at least nine and injuring at least 60. The bridge was in the midst of repairs when it buckled and broke apart.

Aug. 14, Hunan province, China: A bridge undergoing construction collapsed in southern China, killing at least 28 people.

2008

Feb. 21, Venezuela: a Venezuelan passenger plane crashes into an Andean Mountain within the Sierra La Culata National Park killing all 46 people aboard.

June 21, the Philippines: a ferry, the Princess of the Stars, is struck by Typhoon Fengshen, killing most of the 865 passengers and crew. There are 59 known survivors. Almost 500 other people die during the storm.

Aug. 1, Pakistan: a large mass of ice breaks on K2, the world's second-highest mountain, causing an avalanche that kills 11 climbers and injures several others.

Aug. 4, Himachal Pradesh: almost 150 people die when rumors of a landslide cause pilgrims to stampede during a festival celebrating the Hindu mother goddess at Naina Devi temple in northern India.

Sept. 30, India: over 100 people die and hundreds more are seriously injured when a wall of the Chamunda Devi temple in Jodhpur, northern India, collapses during the Navratra religious festival and causes a stampede.