If we look into history, we will understand that people were the culprits of many disasters. Accidents and accidents are sad pages of history, but there were also such incidents that incurred incredible losses.
We bring to your attention 10 most expensive accidents in the history of mankind... The consequences of natural disasters, terrorism and war were not included in this list. You may be interested in the article 10 of the most expensive terrorist attacks in history.
10. The sinking of the Titanic, 1912 ($ 150 million)
The accident happened at the beginning of the 20th century. The cost of the ship is $ 7 million, an incredible amount at that time, today it would have been $ 150 million. The Titanic was heading for a five-day journey from England to New York. It was one of the largest ships, recognized as a work of art, the Titanic was considered unsinkable due to the security measures taken.
But on April 15, 1912, it crashed after hitting an iceberg. This accident took away 1,500 thousand passengers and crew. The luxurious ship was glorified in the film of the same name "Titanic"starring the inimitable Leonardo DiCaprio. Perhaps you will be interested in 11 facts from the life of DiCaprio.
9. Collision of a truck with a tanker on the bridge, 2004 ($ 358 million)
The incident happened in Germany on August 26, 2004, when a truck crashed into a fuel tanker on a railway bridge, the truck fell directly on the A4 Autobahn, flying over the barriers in a huge explosion. The explosion resulted in a huge fire that destroyed the bridge. The preliminary repairs cost $ 40 million, and when it came time to overhaul the bridge, the cost reached $ 318 million.
8. Train collision at Chatsworth, 2008 ($ 500 million)
The Chatsworth train collision is one of the most costly and worst train disasters in history. This incident occurred on September 12, 2008, when the commuter train "Metrolink"and a freight train"Union Pacific"crashed head-on in the Los Angeles, California area.
The accident was caused by the train conductor's negligence. "Metrolink"who did not notice the red light. This accident killed 25 people, and many survivors were permanently crippled. Fatal mistake made"Metrolink”, Cost $ 500 million.
7. Heavy bomber crash, 2008 ($ 1.4 billion)
The crash of the Stealth B-2 heavy bomber is the most expensive accident in the history of the United States Air Force. On February 23, 2008, a United States Air Force bomber crashed on the runway just after taking off from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. According to the investigation, an error in the data of the computer control system was recognized as the cause of the accident. Both crew members tried to save the bomber, but it did not work, they miraculously survived, the plane was completely destroyed and the estimated losses were $ 1.4 billion.
6.Exxon Valdez oil spill, 1989 ($ 2.5 billion)
The tragedy occurred in Alaska on March 24, 1989, after an oil tanker named "Exxon Valdez”Off the coast of Long Beach, it crashed into Bligh's Reef and spilled 260,000 barrels of crude oil that polluted the water. One of the most destructive environmental disasters caused by the human factor.
The largest oil spill in American history - more than 1,300 kilometers of coastline was damaged, lives of many people destroyed. Hundreds of birds and marine animals have died in the affected area. The factors that contributed to the accident were identified. The cost of cleaning up the Exxon oil spill was $ 2.5 billion.
5. Piper Alpha oil rig explosion, 1988 ($ 3.4 billion)
The accident at the Piper Alpha oil rig, which killed 167 workers on July 6, 1988 off the coast of Aberdeen, is the most dangerous accident in the world. At the time, Piper Alpha Oil was the largest oil producer in the world, with a production capacity of approximately 317,000 barrels of oil per day. On the day of the accident, the scheduled occupation of the maintenance personnel was to remove and inspect the safety valves necessary (in case of danger) to limit the accumulation of liquid gas.
Among the 100 safety valves, one valve was overlooked. Unfortunately, this led to an extremely large scale of the disaster. 167 of the 228 workers were killed, the platform was completely destroyed, and it took about 3 weeks to take control of the fire. $ 3.4 billion was spent on the restoration of the water area and coastline from the consequences of the oil disaster.
4. Disaster of the space shuttle Challenger, 1986 ($ 5.5 billion)
On January 28, 1986, 73 seconds after the launch of Space Shuttle Challenger, all seven crew members on board were killed. Damage cost $ 5.5 billion; the cost of replacing the aircraft was $ 2 billion, which is equal to $ 4.5 million, while the cost of solving problems, investigating and replacing equipment was $ 450 million, which is equal to $ 1 billion today. Depressurization of the spacecraft occurred due to a defect in the sealing ring.
The failure of the O-ring caused a breach in the sealing of the joint under the pressure of the hot gas. This kind of damage caused a hole in the side of the accelerator to burn out, from which a jet stream was beating towards the external fuel tank. This led to the destruction of the tail mount of the right solid propellant booster and the supporting structures of the external fuel tank. This incident forever changed the US space program and forced shuttles to be abandoned.
3. Oil spill on the tanker "Prestige", 2002 ($ 12 billion)
The Prestige is an oil tanker that was carrying 77,000 tons of heavy fuel oil on November 13, 2002, when one of 12 tanks exploded in a storm off the coast of Galicia, Spain. The captain asked for help, as he was afraid of the possibility of the ship sinking, but pressure from the local authorities forced the captain to pull the ship away from the harbor. The captain tried to get help from the Portuguese and French authorities, but they ordered the ship to be taken away.
The storm swept over the ship and resulted in a tanker fracture and a spill of 20 million gallons of oil into the sea. Thousands of kilometers of coastline and over a thousand beaches along the French, Spanish and Portuguese coasts have been trapped in the oil slick, as well as severe damage to the local fishing industry. DThis incident is the largest environmental disaster in both Portuguese and Spanish history.... The co-cleanup cost was $ 12 billion.
2. Space disaster of the shuttle "Columbia", 2003 ($ 13 billion)
The explosion occurred on February 1, 2003, when the shuttle flew over the states of Louisiana and Texas on re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven crew members. The reason was the destruction of the outer heat-shielding layer on the left plane of the shuttle wing. According to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the total cost of the costly disaster is $ 13 billion.
1. Chernobyl accident, 1986 ($ 200 billion)
The nuclear disaster that occurred on April 26, 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. The explosion and fire provoked the release of a huge amount of radioactive particles into the atmosphere, which threatened most of Europe and the western part of the USSR. This explosion was a catastrophic incident at nuclear power plants in terms of losses and costs. The technical reasons for the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant were factors associated with the shortcomings of the reactor, made during construction, as well as operator error and violation of regulations.
1.7 million people were affected by the accident, while 200,000 were internally displaced.For a long time, congenital deformities and oncological diseases were observed everywhere. The total cost of cleaning, compensation and resettlement was about $ 200 billion.
