Art, obsession, and identity
A shipment of ammonium nitrate (used as fertilizer) detonated on a ship in Texas City, Texas in 1947, killing over 500 people and injuring thousands more, according to Network Computing.
A crack in one of the new tires designed to improve passenger comfort caused one of the cars to derail, which proceeded to collide with a pillar holding up a bridge. The bridge collapsed on top of the train and killed 101 people, according to MIT Technology Review.
One of the most recent technological disasters took place when a self-driving car hit and killed a woman.
A dam failure in India in 1979 killed between an estimated 5,000 and 15,000 people after heavy rain and flooding hit the area, according to Network Computing.
The cause of the accident is said to be a flawed reactor design and poorly trained employees, according to world-nuclear.org.
The collision, caused by faulty steering and brake design coupled with bad weather, killed 26 people and spilled more than 185 million liters of oil into the sea, as reported by MIT Technology Review.
The car failed to detect the 49-year-old woman crossing the street with her bicycle, as reported by The Verge. The incident is seen as the first autonomous vehicle accident to kill a human.
A flawed design in the connectors holding up the walkways caused them to collapse, killing 114 in the accident, according to MIT Technology Review.
The Union Carbide Facility in Bhopal, India, experienced a gas leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) (used to manufacture pesticides) in 1984. The accident killed between 4,000 to 30,000 due to both the initial exposure and gas-related injuries, as outlined on the website Network Computing.
Poor working conditions and containment design caused a gas and coal-dust explosion in the mine that killed over 1,500 miners, making the disaster the deadliest in coal-mining history, as reported on Network Computing.
See also: How has technology transformed the way we live and learn?
Underwhelming engineering of the dam did not prepare it for the worst-case scenario and its collapse under the pressure of the water caused 3.7 to 9.1 meter-high floods to inundate nearby villages, according to website Network Computing.
In 2012, a Florida couple was found dead in their home from carbon monoxide poisoning that had seeped into the house from the attached garage after forgetting to turn off the car, as reported on searcylaw.com.
This is another case of a lack of safety precautions due to the belief that the structure is indestructible. Chicago’s Iroquois Theater was boasted as fireproof. However, after a fire started backstage, the asbestos curtain that was supposed to fall and prevent the fire from spreading got caught and 602 people trapped inside ended up perishing, according to MIT Technology Review. The theater did not include firefighting equipment nor a sprinkler system and the doors barred people from exiting once inside the theater.
Dangerous working conditions and a lack of precautions taken around safe munition handling caused an explosion that killed 320 people and injured another 390, according to the website Network Computing.
When the shuttle flew apart in space on January 28, 1986, it took seven lives with it.
A report on the accident blamed the gas leak on faulty equipment and maintenance, according to UPI.
Improper repairs to the tail of the aircraft caused a rapid decompression during the flight that ripped off the tail and brought 520 crew and passengers down to their deaths, according to website Network Computing.
At times, even some of our most trusted technologies can fail us. Many of the large-scale man-made disasters in history can be attributed to catastrophic technological failures.
In the following gallery, scroll through some of the largest and deadliest technological disasters of all time.
The most fatal technological disasters in history
A tragic number of lives were lost to severe technological breakdowns
LIFESTYLE Tragedy
At times, even some of our most trusted technologies can fail us. Many of the large-scale man-made disasters in history can be attributed to catastrophic technological failures.
In the following gallery, scroll through some of the largest and deadliest technological disasters of all time.