Ufa train disaster

Ufa train disaster
Details
Date 4 June 1989
Time 1:15
Location Chelyabinsk Oblast
Country Soviet Union
Rail line Kuybyshev Railway
Statistics
Trains 2
Passengers 1.300
Deaths 575
Injuries 800
Damage 2 Train

Coordinates: 54°56′38″N 57°5′10″E / 54.94389°N 57.08611°E

The Ufa train disaster was an explosion on the Kuybyshev Railway on June 4, 1989 at 1:15 (local time) in the Soviet Union, about 50 kilometers from the city of Ufa. It was the deadliest railway accident in Russian and Soviet history.

The explosion occurred when a leaking natural gas liquids[1] (mainly propane and butane) pipeline created a highly flammable cloud that was ignited by sparks created by two passenger trains passing each other nearby. Both trains were carrying many children: one was returning from a holiday vacation on the Black Sea and the other was taking children there.[2] Estimates of the size of the explosion have ranged from 250-300 tons of TNT equivalent[3] up to 10,000 tons of TNT equivalent.[1] According to official figures, 575 people died and more than 800 were injured.[1][4] The exact location was near the town of Asha.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Russia remembers 1989 Ufa train disaster". RIA Novosti. 2009-06-04. (English)
  2. ↑ Bill Keller (June 5, 1989). "500 on 2 Trains Reported Killed By Soviet Gas Pipeline Explosion". New York Times. Retrieved September 18, 2011. (English)
  3. ↑ "Железнодорожные катастрофы на территории России" [Train Crash in Russia]. Vesti. November 11, 2009. Retrieved September 18, 2011. (Russian)
  4. ↑ Toll up to 645 in Soviet train blast, Chicago Sun-Times (July 26, 1989)(English)

External links