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© Getty Images
0 / 30 Fotos
Port Chicago disaster - This accident involved an ammunition explosion on a cargo vessel at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in California in 1944.
© iStock
1 / 30 Fotos
Port Chicago disaster
- 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.
© Getty Images
2 / 30 Fotos
Self-driving car accident
- One of the most recent technological disasters took place when a self-driving car hit and killed a woman.
© iStock
3 / 30 Fotos
Self-driving car accident
- 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.
© iStock
4 / 30 Fotos
Push button ignition - Keyless ignitions are all the rage in new car models. While they can be convenient and helpful for drivers, they have also been linked to several fatal accidents. One of the most common accidents that can occur with a keyless ignition car is when drivers forget to turn off the car.
© iStock
5 / 30 Fotos
Push button ignition
- 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.
© iStock
6 / 30 Fotos
Plane crash - The crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123 in 1985 was the deadliest single-aircraft crash in history.
© iStock
7 / 30 Fotos
Plane crash
- 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.
© iStock
8 / 30 Fotos
The Atlantic Empress/Aegean Captain collision - A collision between two oil supertankers occurred on July 19, 1979.
© iStock
9 / 30 Fotos
The Atlantic Empress/Aegean Captain collision
- 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.
© iStock
10 / 30 Fotos
The Eschede train derailment - In 1998, the Inter City Express line in northern Germany was the first high-speed train to suffer a fatal accident.
© Shutterstock
11 / 30 Fotos
The Eschede train derailment
- 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.
© iStock
12 / 30 Fotos
Texas City disaster
- 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.
© iStock
13 / 30 Fotos
Texas City disaster - A lack of precautions in the transport of the explosives allowed the material to detonate after coming into contact with a fire that had been started by a cigarette.
© iStock
14 / 30 Fotos
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster - When the shuttle flew apart in space on January 28, 1986, it took seven lives with it.
© iStock
15 / 30 Fotos
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster - The well-known disaster involved a failure of the O-ring that sealed the shuttle's rocket booster.
© iStock
16 / 30 Fotos
The Hyatt Regency walkway collapse - On July 17, 1981, in Kansas City, Missouri, a "floating walkway" collapsed in a Hyatt Regency hotel.
© iStock
17 / 30 Fotos
The Hyatt Regency walkway collapse
- A flawed design in the connectors holding up the walkways caused them to collapse, killing 114 in the accident, according to MIT Technology Review.
© iStock
18 / 30 Fotos
Titanic sinking - The sinking of the supposedly "unsinkable" ship on April 14, 1912, will forever remind us of our human hubris.
© iStock
19 / 30 Fotos
Titanic sinking - A series of factors contributed to the ship's sinking that fateful night, including several design flaws. For example, the iron plates holding together the steel plates towards the bow and the stern were too weak, allowing the ship to rip apart too quickly after colliding with the iceberg.
© Shutterstock
20 / 30 Fotos
The Iroquois Theater blaze
- 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.
© Getty Images
21 / 30 Fotos
Chernobyl disaster - The infamous nuclear accident in 1986 in Ukraine killed 60 people, but there are claims that thousands more died later due to radiation exposure.
© iStock
22 / 30 Fotos
Chernobyl disaster
- The cause of the accident is said to be a flawed reactor design and poorly trained employees, according to world-nuclear.org.
© iStock
23 / 30 Fotos
Machchhu dam failure
- 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.
© iStock
24 / 30 Fotos
Machchhu dam failure
- 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.
© Shutterstock
25 / 30 Fotos
Bhopal disaster
- 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.
© Shutterstock
26 / 30 Fotos
Bhopal disaster
- A report on the accident blamed the gas leak on faulty equipment and maintenance, according to UPI.
© Shutterstock
27 / 30 Fotos
Coal mine - A fatal coal mining disaster occurred in Benxi, Liaoning, China, in 1942.
© Shutterstock
28 / 30 Fotos
Coal mine
- 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: The world's worst industrial disasters
© Shutterstock
29 / 30 Fotos
© Getty Images
0 / 30 Fotos
Port Chicago disaster - This accident involved an ammunition explosion on a cargo vessel at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in California in 1944.
© iStock
1 / 30 Fotos
Port Chicago disaster
- 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.
© Getty Images
2 / 30 Fotos
Self-driving car accident
- One of the most recent technological disasters took place when a self-driving car hit and killed a woman.
© iStock
3 / 30 Fotos
Self-driving car accident
- 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.
© iStock
4 / 30 Fotos
Push button ignition - Keyless ignitions are all the rage in new car models. While they can be convenient and helpful for drivers, they have also been linked to several fatal accidents. One of the most common accidents that can occur with a keyless ignition car is when drivers forget to turn off the car.
© iStock
5 / 30 Fotos
Push button ignition
- 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.
© iStock
6 / 30 Fotos
Plane crash - The crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123 in 1985 was the deadliest single-aircraft crash in history.
© iStock
7 / 30 Fotos
Plane crash
- 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.
© iStock
8 / 30 Fotos
The Atlantic Empress/Aegean Captain collision - A collision between two oil supertankers occurred on July 19, 1979.
© iStock
9 / 30 Fotos
The Atlantic Empress/Aegean Captain collision
- 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.
© iStock
10 / 30 Fotos
The Eschede train derailment - In 1998, the Inter City Express line in northern Germany was the first high-speed train to suffer a fatal accident.
© Shutterstock
11 / 30 Fotos
The Eschede train derailment
- 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.
© iStock
12 / 30 Fotos
Texas City disaster
- 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.
© iStock
13 / 30 Fotos
Texas City disaster - A lack of precautions in the transport of the explosives allowed the material to detonate after coming into contact with a fire that had been started by a cigarette.
© iStock
14 / 30 Fotos
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster - When the shuttle flew apart in space on January 28, 1986, it took seven lives with it.
© iStock
15 / 30 Fotos
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster - The well-known disaster involved a failure of the O-ring that sealed the shuttle's rocket booster.
© iStock
16 / 30 Fotos
The Hyatt Regency walkway collapse - On July 17, 1981, in Kansas City, Missouri, a "floating walkway" collapsed in a Hyatt Regency hotel.
© iStock
17 / 30 Fotos
The Hyatt Regency walkway collapse
- A flawed design in the connectors holding up the walkways caused them to collapse, killing 114 in the accident, according to MIT Technology Review.
© iStock
18 / 30 Fotos
Titanic sinking - The sinking of the supposedly "unsinkable" ship on April 14, 1912, will forever remind us of our human hubris.
© iStock
19 / 30 Fotos
Titanic sinking - A series of factors contributed to the ship's sinking that fateful night, including several design flaws. For example, the iron plates holding together the steel plates towards the bow and the stern were too weak, allowing the ship to rip apart too quickly after colliding with the iceberg.
© Shutterstock
20 / 30 Fotos
The Iroquois Theater blaze
- 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.
© Getty Images
21 / 30 Fotos
Chernobyl disaster - The infamous nuclear accident in 1986 in Ukraine killed 60 people, but there are claims that thousands more died later due to radiation exposure.
© iStock
22 / 30 Fotos
Chernobyl disaster
- The cause of the accident is said to be a flawed reactor design and poorly trained employees, according to world-nuclear.org.
© iStock
23 / 30 Fotos
Machchhu dam failure
- 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.
© iStock
24 / 30 Fotos
Machchhu dam failure
- 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.
© Shutterstock
25 / 30 Fotos
Bhopal disaster
- 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.
© Shutterstock
26 / 30 Fotos
Bhopal disaster
- A report on the accident blamed the gas leak on faulty equipment and maintenance, according to UPI.
© Shutterstock
27 / 30 Fotos
Coal mine - A fatal coal mining disaster occurred in Benxi, Liaoning, China, in 1942.
© Shutterstock
28 / 30 Fotos
Coal mine
- 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: The world's worst industrial disasters
© Shutterstock
29 / 30 Fotos
The most fatal technological disasters in history
Countless lives have been lost to catastrophic technological failures
© Getty Images
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 most deadly technological disasters of all time.
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