This list of traffic collisions records serious
road crashes: those that have a large
death toll, occurred in unusual circumstances, or have some other historical significance. For crashes that killed notable people, refer to
List of people who died in traffic collisions. The prevalence of bus crashes in this list is a function of severity rather than of frequency. This list records crashes up to the year 1999. For later crashes see:
List of traffic collisions (2000–present).
1771 – France –
Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot's second
steam-powered vehicle is said to have crashed into a wall during a test run, in what would have been the first
automobile crash. However, it is disputed that this ever happened. According to Georges Ageon,[1] the earliest mention of this occurrence dates from 1801 and it does not feature in contemporary accounts.
1800s
July 1834 – Scotland – A steam carriage constructed by
John Scott Russell, which was operating a public transport service between
Glasgow and
Paisley, overturned after hitting an obstruction in the road. This caused a boiler explosion which killed five passengers and injured others. Russell's carriage comprised a self-propelling steam engine pulling a combined passenger and fuel tender.[2]
August 31, 1869 – Ireland – While riding as a passenger with relatives in an experimental
steam car,
Mary Ward was thrown from the car and fell under the wheels as it rounded a bend. Mary Rose's collision may be characterized as the first fatality involving a vehicle in the form of a contemporary motorcar, in which the engine is mounted and passengers ride on the same frame. It took place in the town of
Birr, which was known at that time as Parsonstown. The car was built by her cousins, the sons of
William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse.[3]
1891 – United States –
John William Lambert was involved in the first recorded automobile crash in American history. The crash occurred in
Ohio City, Ohio. Lambert's vehicle—the first single-cylinder gasoline automobile—was carrying Lambert and James Swoveland when it hit a tree root, causing the car to careen out of control and smash into a hitching post. Injuries were minor.[4]
February 25, 1899 – United Kingdom – Edwin Sewell and Major Richer are thrown from their vehicle on
Harrow on the Hill,
Middlesex, and killed. Sewell's death is the first recorded fatality of a driver.[6]
August 1946 – United States – 2 cars collided head-on on
U.S. Route 30, 27 miles northwest of
Portland, Oregon, killing 5 people and injuring 2.[12]
October 1947 – United Kingdom – A bus crashes into a building in
Holmfirth, Yorkshire, killing 9 people.[11]
January 1948 – United Kingdom – A bus skidded into a bus queue in
Bargeddie, near
Glasgow, Scotland, killing 8 people and injuring 12.[11]
November 24, 1948 – Sweden – A
trolleybus on line 96 collided with a truck, which loaded with concrete slabs that were heading in the opposite direction. The bus drove off
Essingebron in
Stockholm and 11 people died.[13]
1950s
1950
February 11 – Japan – A
Takase-
Kumamoto Kyūshū Sanko regular route bus plunges into a pond 40 feet (12 m) below at
Matsuo,
Kumamoto,
Kyūshū, killing 22 people and injuring 18.[14]
May – United Kingdom – A bus and a tram collide in
Glasgow, killing 7 people and injuring 43.[11]
November 7 – Japan – A regular route bus plunges 240 feet (73 m) into the Mononobe river,
Mirabu, eastern
Kōchi Prefecture,
Shikoku, killing 33 people and injuring 24.[14]
December 4 – United Kingdom –
Gillingham bus disaster. During an evening march in a badly-lit area, a
double-decker bus struck a company of fifty-two young members of the
Royal Marines Volunteer Cadet Corps, aged between ten and thirteen years. 24 cadets were killed and 18 injured; at the time it was the greatest loss of life of any road crash in British history. The crash was ruled accidental.[15]
1954
September 29 – Netherlands – The brakes and gear box of a Belgian tourist bus fail on the downhill slope of the
Cauberg, near
Valkenburg aan de Geul, hitting a pedestrian, then a monument and a building. 19 people were killed.[16]
November 12 –
Réunion – The brakes of a bus failed on the downhill slope of
Plateau-Caillou in
Saint-Paul. 54 people were killed.
1955
September 30 – United States -
Death of James Dean. The death of Hollywood actor
James Dean occurred near
Cholame, California. Dean had previously competed in several auto racing events, and was traveling to a sports car racing competition when his
Porsche 550 Spyder collided with another car at the junction of California State Route 46 (former 466) and California State Route 41. He was 24 years old.[17]
1957
April 27 – Soviet Union – 33 people were killed when a bus collided with a train in
Chelyabinsk Oblast.[18]
June 6 – United States – An early morning collision occurred 7 mi (11 km) north of
Fayetteville, North Carolina, where a flat bed truck packed with migrant workers pulled in front of a tractor-trailer hauling potatoes. It killed 21 people. At the time, it is the worst traffic fatality accident in U.S. history.[19]
December 22 – Greece – A suburban bus from
Ioannina to
Chouliarades carrying 34 people failed to complete a manoeuvre on the steep road near the village of
Petrovouni, Ioannina. It subsequently fell down the 350m slope to
Arachthos gorge, killing 29 people, 7 of whom were minors.[20]
1959
June 20 – West Germany –
Lauffen bus crash. A crowded bus collided with a train on a level crossing in
Lauffen am Neckar, killing 45 people. It was the worst bus crash in German history.[21]
September 10 – United States – A school bus stalled on railroad tracks in
Oakland, Maryland, was hit by a train, killing 7 children and injuring 11.[22]
1960s
1960
July 24 – Japan – A charter bus collides with a regular route bus, the charter bus plunging 270 ft (80 m) into a valley along the toll road of
Mount Hiei,
Ōtsu, Shiga, killing 30 people and injuring another 18.[14]
September 14 – Greece – A truck struck a suburban bus which subsequently crashed into an olive tree between
Athens and
Corinth, killing 11 people.[23]
November 29 – Canada – 17 high schoolers from the town of
Chipman, Alberta died after a school bus was hit by a train near
Lamont, Alberta. An additional 25 people were injured.[24]
1961
December 14 – United States – 20 schoolchildren were killed in a bus-train collision in
Evans, Colorado. The bus driver had stopped at the rural track but did not see or hear the train arriving. The bus had almost passed over the track when it was struck.[25]
1962
June 11 – Argentina –
Villa Soldati level crossing tragedy. A train struck a municipal bus in
Buenos Aires whilst it was carrying school children to kindergarten. 42 children were killed and 83 were injured.
1963
February 7 – New Zealand –
Brynderwyn bus accident. A bus in
Northland Region leaves the road after brake failure and rolls down a valley, killing 15 people, and becomes the worst road crash in New Zealand history up to that time.[26]
April 7 – Kenya – A bus returning from a church meeting plunged into the Tiva River,
Mitaboni,
Machakos, killing at least 72 people.[27]
May 18 – United States – A bus carrying 42 migrant agricultural workers crashed into a canal in
Belle Glade, Florida, killing 27 people.[28]
June 10 – United States – An open truck carrying 49
Boy Scouts and leaders stalls while climbing a hill en route to
Hole in the Rock,
Utah. It loses its brakes and plunges into Carcass Wash, killing 13 people.[29]
September 17 – United States –
Chualar bus crash. In the worst auto accident in U.S. history, a train hit a flatbed truck used as a bus at a rail crossing in
Chualar, California, killing 32 people and injuring 25.[30]
1965
January 1 – Peru – A
Huancayo-
Ayacucho regular route bus plunges 300 ft (90 m) into a ravine of the
Mantaro River, killing 31 people.[31]
January 10 – Mexico – A bus carrying soccer players and their families plunges 450 ft (140 m) into a ravine on the outskirts of
Dolores Hidalgo,
Guanajuato, killing 19 people and injuring 22.[32]
February 3 – Mexico – A regular route bus plunges 300 ft (90 m) off a cliff along the Mexico-
Ciudad Juárez expressway on the outskirts of
Zacatecas, killing 25 people and injuring 40.[33]
February 10 – Egypt – A truck carrying 66 people plunged into a canal on the outskirts of
El Ayyat, killing 36 people. The truck driver is arrested on suspicion of driving without a license.[34]
February 18 – Italy – A
Naples-
Salerno regular route bus plunges 15 m (50 ft) into a ravine on the Naples-
Pompeii expressway near
Mount Vesuvius, killing 17 people and injuring 60.[35]
March 2 – Austria – 12 Swedish schoolchildren and 2 Finnish girls on winter sports holiday were killed when the bus they were traveling in was swept away in an avalanche in
Obertauern.[36]
November 1 – Egypt – A crowded trolley bus plunges into the
Nile on the outskirts of
Dokki,
Giza, killing 74 people.[37]
July 25 – West Germany – A bus carrying Belgian children on vacation plunges off an
Autobahn bridge and crashes on its roof. 33 people were killed, including 27 children and the driver who fell asleep at the wheel. Only 4 people survived.[39]
June 6 – Philippines – A regular route bus navigating a sharp descending curve on a narrow mountain road near
Baler, Quezon, plunged into a ravine and burst into flames. 40 people were killed and 32 were injured.[41]
June 21 – Syria – An overcrowded vehicle carrying 35 workers crashed at
Maharda,
Al-Amam, killing 25 people.[42]
September 27 – South Korea – A regular route bus plunged off a mountain cliff on the outskirts of Myongju,
South Gyeongsang Province, killing 15 people and injuring 20.[43]
November 22 – Argentina – A bus plunged into a creek on the outskirts of
Reconquista, Santa Fe, killing 56 people and leaving 4 survivors.[44]
1971
May 10 – South Korea – At least 75 people drowned when a bus carrying nearly 90 passengers plunged into a reservoir near
Cheongpyeong.[45]
September 17 – Spain – In
Valdepeñas a truck carrying three tons of bricks crashed into a French Coach bus, killing 18, including 17
Quebecer tourists.[46]
June 25 – Spain – A bus carrying soccer fans home from a game plunged into a ravine near
Cáceres, killing 22 and injuring 34.[48]
August 25 – Netherlands – Many cars and trucks collided in sudden dense fog on the
A16 motorway near
Prinsenbeek, killing 13.[49] A fog warning system was installed after this crash, however a similar crash occurred 18 years later.
September 23 – Japan – An
Akakura-
Togakushi regular route bus carrying 82 passengers plunged from a single-lane road into a ravine in
Shinano, Nagano. 15 people were killed and 67 were injured.[14]
1973
July 18 – France – A bus carrying Belgian tourists plunged into a ravine in
Vizille, killing 43 people.[50]
September 26 – Australia – A tourist bus carrying pensioners on a sightseeing trip plunged over the
Tumut Pond Dam, killing 18 and injuring 21.[51][52]
November 4 – United States – A bus carrying gamblers to
Reno, Nevada crashed into a pillar five miles north of
Sacramento, California, killing 13 and injuring 31.[53]
November 20 – Mexico – An overcrowded bus carrying religious pilgrims skidded off a road and plunged into a ravine 50 miles southwest of Mexico City, killing at least 15 and injuring 43. A further 10 were reported missing. Most of the passengers were children.[54]
1974
January 15 – United States –
Blythe, California bus crash. A bus carrying farm laborers missed a ninety-degree turn on an intersection and fell into a drainage canal, killing 19.
July 28 – Brazil – A crowded bus and a truck collided near
Belém, killing 69 people.[50]
July 30 – United States – A 1972 Oldsmobile station wagon, occupied by four children and four adults, collided with a Soo Line freight train at the Fibre Crossing, which did not have lights or gates installed. All eight were killed.[55]
1975
January 1 – Japan – A charter bus carrying 62 passengers plunged 100 ft (30 m) into Aoki Lake,
Ōmachi, Nagano, killing 24 people.[14]
April 2 – France – A bus carrying religious pilgrims suffered a brake failure and plunged off a bridge near
Vizille, killing 27 and injuring 16.[56]
June 15 – Austria – A tour bus carrying pensioners suffered a brake failure and went over an embankment into a ravine near
Villach, killing 21 and injuring 23 in Austria's worst bus disaster.[58]
December 12 - Canada - A
Go Transit train strikes a bus on a level crossing in
Toronto killing 10 and injuring a further 20.[59]
1976
February 16 – Sweden – The worst traffic accident in Sweden occurred outside
Axamo,
Jönköping. Overheated tires caused a bus fire, killing 15 and injuring 28.[60]
August 22 – Brazil – Former president
Juscelino Kubitschek was killed when his car crashed into a truck on the
Dutra Highway. His driver was also killed.
December 21 – France – A school bus carrying mentally handicapped children returning from the
Édouard Séguin Children Medical Center plunged into the River
Rhône on the outskirts of
Lyon, killing at least 13 people.[62]
1977
June 9 – Russia – A truck crashes into a crowd at a downtown
Moscow bus stop, killing eight people and injuring 18.[63]
August 11 – Japan – A charter bus plunged 120 ft (37 m) into a ravine at Nagatoro bridge,
Kōfu,
Yamanashi Prefecture, killing 11 people and injuring 39.[14]
1978
January 22 – Poland –
Katastrofa autobusu koło Osiecznicy [
pl]. Soviet Army truck loaded with parts of a pontoon bridge collided with crowded bus, killing 15 people and injuring 14.
July 11 – Spain –
Los Alfaques disaster. In
La Ràpita, a
tank truck containing 45 m³ of
liquefied propylene left the road and veered into the Los Alfaques camping site after colliding with a building. The resulting
fire ball was more than 100 meters in diameter and killed at least 215 people (some sources speak of 216 or even 270), and injured 200.[64]
August 4 – Canada – the
Eastman Bus Crash occurred when a bus carrying mentally handicapped people plunged into a lake in
Eastman, Quebec, killing 40 people. Only seven people survived.[65]
November 15 – Poland –
Katastrofa drogowa pod Żywcem [
pl]. Two buses with miners going to work plunged into the river Jezioro Żywieckie near
Żywiec, killing 33 people.
December 21 – Spain – A school bus was struck by a locomotive on a level crossing near
Salamanca, killing 28 and injuring 36.[66]
1979
April 10 – Spain – A bus carrying pupils from a trip to
Madrid and
Toledo plunged into a river near
Benavente, killing 50 of the 60 people aboard.[67]
June 2 – South Korea – A bus collided with a truck and plunged into a river near
Sarnchok, killing around 20 and injuring 20.[68]
June 9 - Canada - A bus carrying seniors lost control during a rainstorm and crashed into an overpass near
Sainte-Rosalie, Quebec killing 11 seniors and injuring another 20.[69]
August 16 – Yugoslavia – A bus collided with a truck and plunged into a river near
Novi Sad killing 14 and injuring 40.[70]
1980s
1980
March 3 – Soviet Union – A city bus 62 caught fire in
Minsk after driving into a pool of gasoline spilled from a fuel truck, burning 23 people to death.[71]
June 5 – United States – A tour bus rolled off the highway near
Jasper, Arkansas, killing 22 people and injuring 19.[72]
June 29 – Pakistan – A bus carrying more than 100 women and children plunged into a canal in Upper Jhelam, near
Mirpur,
Azad Kashmir, and at least 90 people drowned as a result.[73]
June 29 – Romania –
Huțani bus accident. A bus carrying 83 people went off a bridge and overturned into a deep marsh near
Huțani, a village in
Vlădeni, Botoșani, killing 48 people and injuring 35.[74]
1981
April 26 – Mexico – A head-on collision of a bus and a truck near
Tijuana killed 30 people and injured 10 to 15.[75]
May 22 – Mexico – A head-on collision of a bus and a truck in
Chiapas state killed 33 people.[76]
September 29 – Spain – A head-on collision of a bus and a truck in
Toledo Province killed at least 25 people.[77]
November 28 – Chile – A collision between a bus and a truck 200 miles south of
Santiago on the
Pan-American Highway killed 32 and injured 10.[78]
1982
January 31 – Chile – Two buses collide and plunge into a
gorge on the outskirts of Santiago, killing 14 people and injuring 70.[79]
August 1 – France –
Beaune coach crash. Two buses carrying children collided with cars and burst into flames in
Beaune, killing 53 people, including 44 children in the worst highway crash in France.[81]
September 12 – Switzerland – A bus carrying German tourists collides with a train on a level crossing near
Zürich, killing 39 people. The barriers were not closed, because the operator pressed a wrong button. Only two passengers survived the crash. It was the worst road crash in Switzerland to date.[83]
September 19 – Australia – A bus carrying students from
Merredin College returning from a football game in
Perth ran off the road and struck a tree, killing 10 and injuring eight.[84]
November 3 – Afghanistan –
Salang Tunnel fire – Hundreds were killed in a tunnel fire after a disaster involving a Soviet fuel convoy. Estimates are as great as 2,700 dead.[85]
February 11 – Greece – A Greek Railways bus carrying passengers from
Thessaloniki to
Athens was involved with a head-on collision with a truck 80 miles northwest of Athens killing 17 and injuring 10.[87]
April 10 – Soviet Union – A bus collided with another bus and plunged into a river. 37 people were killed, 46 injured.
April 26 – Italy – A bus carrying students from
Naples to
Lake Garda collided with a trailer-truck in a highway tunnel just south of
Florence, killing 12 and injuring 35.[88]
May 24 – Italy – A bus carrying elderly pilgrims from the city of
Monza skidded off a highway and fell into a ravine near
Tignale, killing all 14 occupants.[89]
September 14 – Austria – A bus carrying Hungarian tourists plunged off a mountain road near
Frohnleiten, killing 13 people and injuring 33.[90]
November 1 – Thailand – A bus collided with a
motorcycle and hit a second bus 600 km (370 mi) northeast of
Bangkok, killing 21 people and injuring 40.[91]
December 18 – Italy – A bus carrying sailors from
Aulla to
Turin to watch a soccer match between
A.C. Milan and
Juventus FC skidded off an overpass near
Genoa, killing 34 and injuring four.[92]
1984
June 11 – Venezuela – A bus carrying military cadets crashed into a bridge and caught fire, killing 33 people and injuring eight.[93]
September 24 – India – A bus plunges into a gorge in
Uttar Pradesh, killing 42 people and injuring 15.[94]
December 11 – United Kingdom – During dense fog on the
M25 motorway near
Limpsfield, 26 vehicles collided, one of which was a petrol tanker which exploded, killing nine.[95][96]
December 24 – South Africa – A bus carrying contract workers from
Cape Town crashed near
Cradock, Eastern Cape killing 42 and injuring 25.[97]
1985
January 12 – South Korea – A bus going from
Muju County to
Daejeon plunged into an icy river near
Yeongdong County, killing 40 of the 41 people on board. Passenger Kang Yu-il was the only survivor.[98]
January 27 – Japan – A bus carrying students and professors from Japan Welfare University skidded off a road near
Nagano and plunged into a dam, killing 25 and injuring eight.[99]
March 27 – South Africa –
Westdene dam disaster – A school bus crashed through a barrier in
Westdene,
Gauteng, and plunged into a dam, killing 42 school children.
June 11 – Israel –
HaBonim disaster - A bus carrying school children on a field trip collided with a train near
MoshavHabonim, killing 21 people, including 19 children.[101]
September 22 – Pakistan – A school bus rolls over in
Layyah, killing 30 children.[102]
October 21 – United Kingdom – A coach collided with stationary traffic due to construction work on the
M6 motorway in Lancashire, between
Preston and
Lancaster, killing 13 people.[103]
November 5 – Italy – A bus carrying mostly students and workers from
Leonforte to
Catania skidded off a bridge, killing 15 and injuring six.[104]
June 23 – United Kingdom – A van returning from the
Glastonbury Festival collides with a car on the M4 motorway, killing a total of 13 passengers, including nine in the van and four in the car.[107]
July 26 – United Kingdom –
Lockington rail crash. A train derails after colliding with a
Ford Escort at a rail crossing in
Lockington, Yorkshire, England, killing 8 people aboard the train and one aboard the car.
March 29 – China – A bus plunges off a cliff in
Shaanxi, killing 19 people and injuring 28.[109]
July 3 – Spain – A bus carrying elderly vacationers skidded off a highway and fell into a ravine near
Ourense, killing 34 and injuring 11.[110]
July 4 – Portugal – A bus carrying tourists skidded into a house near
Covilhã, killing 15 and injuring at least 30.[111]
July 26 – Brazil – A tourist bus, an Urban bus and a car collided with each other in Nova Lima, killing 68 and injuring an uncertain number of people, it is the deadliest traffic collision in Brazilian history.
[1]
November 17 – Spain – A bus carrying workers to
Madrid overturned near
Toledo, killing at least 10 and injuring 37.[112]
December 11 – Egypt – A bus carrying local primary school children returning from the
Giza Zoo was smashed by a fast-speed train at an unmarked railroad level crossing at Ein Sham, on the outskirts of
Cairo, killing 62 children and injuring 67.[113]
1988
March 25 – Spain – An express train hit a nursery bus near
Juneda,
Catalonia, killing 15, including 12 children.[114]
April 1 – South Korea – A bus plunged into the
Hangang river in
Seoul after a tire blew out, killing 18 and injuring 36.[115]
August 12 – Iran – Two buses collide on the highway between
Tehran and
Tabriz, killing 30 people and injuring 50.[116]
August 15 – Norway –
Måbødalen bus accident. 16 people, including 12 children, die when a bus rams into a concrete wall in a tunnel 100 km (60 mi) east of
Bergen.[117]
February 21 – India – A bus falls into a ravine near
Shimla, killing 35 people.[118]
October 12 – China – A bus ignites after toppling into a ditch in
Shaanxi, killing 43 people and injuring 40.[119]
September 22 – Yugoslavia – At the
level crossing in
Pojatno, a passenger train on the
Zagreb-
Varaždin route, travelling at a speed of 80 km/h (49.7 mph) ran into one of three buses. They were carrying 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade students from the
elementary school "Ante Kovačić" from
Marija Gorica on an excursion to
Stubičke Toplice. As a result of the accident, 14 students died.[122]
October 8 – Canada –
Cormier-Village Hayride Accident. 13 people were killed and 30 were injured near
Shediac when a transport truck carrying logs spilled its cargo while passing a loaded
hayride.
March 20 – United States – Whilst on tour, a semi trailer rammed into a
tour bus containing singer
Gloria Estefan, husband
Emilio, their son and three other passengers in
Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, severely injuring Gloria. Following extensive surgery, she returned to an international tour ten months after the crash.[125]
April 22 – Cuba – Two buses collided in
Havana, killing 11 people and injuring 13.[126]
June 3 – France –
Joigny coach crash. A
Shropshire based
double-decker coach bus suffered a blowout of the front tyre on the autoroute
A6 near
Auxerre when it was 20 mph in excess of the speed limit. This caused it to crash, killing 11 people and injuring 61 British tourists, all returning from
Costa Brava. This resulted in a legal action against
Avon Rubber, manufacturer of the tyre of the crash coach, its driver and his employer; resulting in the longest legal case in France.[127]
July 8 – Soviet Union – A bus ignored a barrier at a railroad crossing and collided with a passenger train near
Petrozavodsk,
Karelia,
Russian SFSR, killing 27 people (34 according to unofficial sources) and injuring 24.[128]
November 4 – South Korea – A bus carrying classmates of former President
Chun Doo-hwan crashed into a reservoir near
Inje after colliding with a truck, killing at least 21 people and injuring 20.[130]
November 5 – Italy – A bus carrying elderly vacationers from
Arenzano to
Gravellona Toce skidded off a bridge near
Ovada, killing 30 occupants and injuring many others.[131]
November 9 – Netherlands – In sudden dense fog on the
A16 motorway west of
Breda, several cars and trucks collide in a huge pile-up. 10 people were killed and 28 injured.[132]
July 31 – United States – A bus carrying about 60 Girl Scouts overturned on a desert mountain road near
California Highway 111, not far from
Palm Springs, killing 7 people.[135]
August 4 – Zimbabwe –
Nyanga bus accident. A crowded bus carrying school children from Regina Coeli Mission in Nyanga loses control and crashes in
Troutbeck, Manicaland, killing 91 people, including 82 children.
August 7 – Austria – The brakes of a Hungarian tourist bus fail in
Styria, killing 15 people and injuring 28.[83]
August 19 – Spain – A bus carrying visitors from
Barcelona to
Seville Expo '92 falls down an embankment on the
A7 highway near
Torreblanca, killing 45 and injuring 11.[138]
September 6 – Germany – Near
Donaueschingen in the
Black Forest, a bus collides into a passenger car and is slit open by a
crash barrier, killing 21 people and injuring 32.[139]
1993
January 4 – Mexico – A tour bus carrying mostly American tourists from
Cancún to
Chichen Itza crashed into a utility pole and caught fire, killing at least 24 passengers and injuring 23.[140]
January 9 – Argentina – Three buses collide and ignite on a highway in
Santo Tomé, Corrientes, killing 55 people and injuring 70.[141]
April 7 – Bulgaria – At least 29 people were killed and 18 injured when a Turkish coach fell from a bridge into the
Yantra river near Byala, after colliding with a lorry. Another heavy Turkish lorry slammed into a crane set up on the bridge to lift the wreckage out of the water.[142][143]
July 17 – Canada – A minibus carrying senior citizens from
Verchères,
Quebec on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Anthony of Padua near La Bouchette collided with a pick-up truck near
Lac Saint-Jean, killing 19 people.[144]
November 10 – France – A pile-up on autoroute
A10 near
Mirambeau leaves 15 people dead and 53 injured.[145]
November 10 – United Kingdom – A bus carrying Canadian and American tourists collided with a van and skidded off the M2 Motorway near
Faversham killing 10 and injuring 36.[146]
November 17 – United Kingdom –
M40 minibus crash. A crash left 12 children dead when their minibus collided with a maintenance vehicle near
Warwick, England, causing new road security campaigns.
1994
January 9 - Indonesia – A bus carrying French tourists on the island of
Bali plunged into a ravine after trying to avoid another vehicle, killing 10 people and injuring 19.[147]
January 3 - Philippines – An overloaded bus missed a bridge and fell off a ravine in
Echague, Isabela, killing at least 31 people and injuring 36.[148]
March 12 – India – A truck carrying benzene rammed a bus outside
Sriperumbudur,
Tamil Nadu, killing 110 people.[149]
May 22 – United Kingdom – A bus carrying veterans from
Christchurch on a day trip to a brewery in
Cardiff veered off the
M4 motorway and plunged into a river near
Bristol, killing 10 and injuring 20.[150]
June 16 – Spain – A bus carrying pensioners collided with a truck and a car near
La Ràpita, killing 11 people and injuring 25.[151]
July 10 – France – A bus carrying mostly Spanish students from
Amsterdam to
Barcelona slammed into a road barrier near
Roquemaure, Gard, killing 22 people and injuring 31.[152]
February 10 – Japan – A huge shard of rock weighing about 21,000 tons smashed through Toyohama tunnel, national highway route 229,
Yoichi, Hokkaido, crushing a
Shakotan-
Otaru regular route bus and a car, killing 20 people.[14]
February 25 – Bolivia – Two buses collide head-on near
La Paz, killing at least 35 people.[154]
February 28 – Spain – A charter bus collides with a car near
Bailen, killing 29 people and injuring 17.[155]
September 29 – Japan – A minivan carrying construction workers crashed on national highway route 9,
Muraoka, Hyōgo, killing 10 people.[14]
October 11 – Estonia –
Pala accident. A school bus collided with a wood truck in
Jõgeva County, killing 8 people and injuring 29.
1997
January 14 – Egypt – A crowded city bus plunged into the
Nile in
Cairo, killing 39 people and injuring 24.[156]
January 19 – India – A bus plunged into a river after losing control on a curvy road in
Punjab, killing 29 people and injuring 12.[157]
March 10 – United Kingdom –
M42 motorway crash. 3 people were killed and 60 injured in a 160 vehicle collision on the
M42 motorway due to fog.[158]
May 8 – India – 70 people heading to a wedding were killed when a truck plunged into a gorge in
Hamirpur,
Himachal Pradesh.[159]
July 15 – Spain – A bus carrying Japanese tourists crashed into another vehicle and caught fire near Toledo, killing 10 and injuring four.[160]
October 13 – Canada –
Les Éboulements bus accident. In
Quebec, 44 people were killed when a bus plunged into a ravine, the worst bus crash in Canadian history.
November 6 – Cuba – A passenger train crashes into a bus in
Holguín Province, killing at least 56 people.[161]
November 27 – India – At least 34 people drowned when their bus fell into a canal in
Karnataka.[162]
December 8 – Rwanda – 22 people were killed when a lorry collided with a minibus.[163]
1998
January 2 – India – Six people were killed and two others were seriously injured when a bus and a jeep collided in
Rajasthan.[164]
January 5 – Zimbabwe – 43 people were killed and more than 60 seriously injured when a bus plunged down a steep slope in
Nyanga after the brakes failed.[165]
January 7 – Kenya – A
Meru-
Nairobi Kenyan Bus Service regular route bus lost control of the vehicle and plummeted down 100 ft (30 m) embankment into Nithi river, killing 58 people and injuring 42.[166]
February 28 – India – 20 people died and 41 were injured when a school bus collided with a city bus at Ariapatti Vilakku, near Valandu in
Tamil Nadu.[167]
March 9 – Saudi Arabia – At least 16 people were killed and six missing after their bus plunged into a flooded river.[168]
April 15 – South Africa – A school bus was involved in a five-vehicle collision near
Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, killing 31 people, including 27 children.[169]
May 5 – Tanzania – At least 72 people drowned when the bus they were travelling in was swept into a river in
Tanga Region.[171]
July 15 – India – At least 45 people were killed when a bus plunged into a river in
Arunachal Pradesh.[172]
July 26 – South Africa – At least 19 people were killed and 60 injured near
Zeerust when a bus collided with a truck on a sharp bend and overturned.[173]
August 12 – Montenegro – A bus crashed down a ravine and killed at least 18 people.[174]
August 26 – India – At least 17 people were killed when a bus hit a tractor trailer in
Uttar Pradesh.[175]
August 30 – Nepal – At least 21 people were killed when a bus they were travelling in left the road and crashed down a hillside.[176]
September 8 – Brazil – A
tanker truck flipped and exploded on a highway north of
São Paulo, setting fire to two buses and killing at least 50 people.[177]
September 20 – Turkmenistan – About 40 people were killed in a bus-train collision.[178]
September 27 – Peru – At least 23 people died and 18 were injured when a bus fell off a cliff near the southern town of Mayoc.[179]
November 11 – India – At least 40 people were killed when a bus plunged down a mountain gorge in
Arunachal Pradesh.[180]
December 14 – India – At least 19 people were killed and 35 were injured when a bus fell into a gorge in the
Pithoragarh district.[181]
December 23 – South Africa – At least 21 people killed when a bus collided with a large truck.[182]
December 25 – India – At least 19 people were killed in
Andhra Pradesh when a bus crashed into a train.[183]
December 31 – United States – 100 cars crashed on an ice-slicked section of
Interstate 75 in central
Michigan, killing one and injuring 39.[184]
1999
January 9 – Georgia – A bus carrying funeral mourners ran off the road and plunged into a river below an outskirt of
Stepantsminda,
Khevi, killing 38 people.[185]
January 21 – Philippines – At least 22 were killed when a bus fell into a ravine near
Baguio.[186]
January 31 – South Africa – At least 31 people were killed in KwaZulu-Natal when a bus plunged off a bridge between
Kokstad and
Johannesburg.[188]
February 26 – Sweden – A minibus east of
Karlskoga got stuck on a truck, was dragged along the road and caught fire. Seven children and two teachers were killed.[189]
March 24 – France and Italy –
Mont Blanc tunnel fire. 39 people were killed in a tunnel fire between France and Italy.
April 30 – Greece – A small vehicle collided with a stopped tanker truck loaded with propane and started a fire near
Kamena Vourla, Fthiotis. A huge explosion followed several minutes later killing five people and injuring 14.[190]
May 9 – United States – A tour bus crashed into a concrete wall on
Interstate 610 in
New Orleans, killing 22 people and injuring 24.[191]
May 29 – Austria – 12 people were killed and 50 were injured in a collision and fire in
Tauern Tunnel.
June 6 – Kenya – At least eight people died after a bus burst a tyre and overturned in
Naivasha on the main Nairobi to Nakuru highway. In another crash 12 were killed when a bus collided with another vehicle.[192]
June 8 – India – At least 94 people were killed, including 11 children, after a bus plunged into a lake in
Karnataka.[193]
July 18 – India – A Kiari-
Shimla HRTC regular route bus carrying 90 passengers plunged into a 40 ft (12 m) deep gorge on the outskirts of Baghar,
Himachal Pradesh, killing 18 people and injuring 55.[194]
September 3 – Canada –
Ontario Highway 401 crash. Dense fog on
Highway 401 near
Windsor, Ontario reduced visibility to less than a meter and caused an 87-vehicle pileup and fire that killed eight people and injured 33. Many vehicles were fused together by the intense heat.[196]
September 16 – Peru – Two road crashes involving buses killed at least 16 people and injured 48 others.[197]
September 19 – Spain – At least 20 people died in a bus crash near
Zaragoza.[198]
September 22 – South Africa – At least 11 people were killed in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck.[199]
September 28 – South Africa – A bus carrying British tourists crashed near
Lydenburg after its brakes failed, killing 29 and injuring seven.[200]
October 4 – South Africa – At least 19 people were killed and 47 seriously injured after a bus crashed down a river embankment.[201]
October 5 – Indonesia – At least 45 people were killed in a bus crash in
West Java between
Jakarta and
Bandung.[202]
October 9 – Israel – A tourbus in
Galilee hit a slick spot on the road, rolled downhill and killed 17 people.[203]
October 25 – India – A bus swerved to avoid hitting a cow and skidded off a mountain road into a deep gorge, killing 27 people and injuring 47 on the way home from a temple in
Hoshiarpur district, 70 miles (110 km) northeast of
Amritsar.[204]
November 7 – India – At least 50 people were killed in a bus crash in
Jammu and Kashmir.[205]
^"Mary Ward 1827–1869". Famous Offaly People. Offaly Historical & Archaeological Society. Archived from
the original on January 5, 2006. Retrieved April 25, 2006.
^Flores, Lori A. (Summer 2013). "A Town Full of Dead Mexicans: The Salinas Valley Bracero Tragedy of 1963, the End of the Bracero Program, and the Evolution of California's Chicano Movement". The Western Historical Quarterly. 44 (2): 124–143.
doi:
10.2307/westhistquar.44.2.0124.
^The Derrick (Oil City, Pennsylvania via AP; January 4, 1965; p. 2 (available through newspaperarchive.com))
^"Motorway mayhem". Commercial Motor Archive. December 22, 1984. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
^"How Sheppey avoided loss of life". BBC News. September 6, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2023. In 1984, nine people died after 26 vehicles collided on the M25 near Clacket Lane.
This list of traffic collisions records serious
road crashes: those that have a large
death toll, occurred in unusual circumstances, or have some other historical significance. For crashes that killed notable people, refer to
List of people who died in traffic collisions. The prevalence of bus crashes in this list is a function of severity rather than of frequency. This list records crashes up to the year 1999. For later crashes see:
List of traffic collisions (2000–present).
1771 – France –
Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot's second
steam-powered vehicle is said to have crashed into a wall during a test run, in what would have been the first
automobile crash. However, it is disputed that this ever happened. According to Georges Ageon,[1] the earliest mention of this occurrence dates from 1801 and it does not feature in contemporary accounts.
1800s
July 1834 – Scotland – A steam carriage constructed by
John Scott Russell, which was operating a public transport service between
Glasgow and
Paisley, overturned after hitting an obstruction in the road. This caused a boiler explosion which killed five passengers and injured others. Russell's carriage comprised a self-propelling steam engine pulling a combined passenger and fuel tender.[2]
August 31, 1869 – Ireland – While riding as a passenger with relatives in an experimental
steam car,
Mary Ward was thrown from the car and fell under the wheels as it rounded a bend. Mary Rose's collision may be characterized as the first fatality involving a vehicle in the form of a contemporary motorcar, in which the engine is mounted and passengers ride on the same frame. It took place in the town of
Birr, which was known at that time as Parsonstown. The car was built by her cousins, the sons of
William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse.[3]
1891 – United States –
John William Lambert was involved in the first recorded automobile crash in American history. The crash occurred in
Ohio City, Ohio. Lambert's vehicle—the first single-cylinder gasoline automobile—was carrying Lambert and James Swoveland when it hit a tree root, causing the car to careen out of control and smash into a hitching post. Injuries were minor.[4]
February 25, 1899 – United Kingdom – Edwin Sewell and Major Richer are thrown from their vehicle on
Harrow on the Hill,
Middlesex, and killed. Sewell's death is the first recorded fatality of a driver.[6]
August 1946 – United States – 2 cars collided head-on on
U.S. Route 30, 27 miles northwest of
Portland, Oregon, killing 5 people and injuring 2.[12]
October 1947 – United Kingdom – A bus crashes into a building in
Holmfirth, Yorkshire, killing 9 people.[11]
January 1948 – United Kingdom – A bus skidded into a bus queue in
Bargeddie, near
Glasgow, Scotland, killing 8 people and injuring 12.[11]
November 24, 1948 – Sweden – A
trolleybus on line 96 collided with a truck, which loaded with concrete slabs that were heading in the opposite direction. The bus drove off
Essingebron in
Stockholm and 11 people died.[13]
1950s
1950
February 11 – Japan – A
Takase-
Kumamoto Kyūshū Sanko regular route bus plunges into a pond 40 feet (12 m) below at
Matsuo,
Kumamoto,
Kyūshū, killing 22 people and injuring 18.[14]
May – United Kingdom – A bus and a tram collide in
Glasgow, killing 7 people and injuring 43.[11]
November 7 – Japan – A regular route bus plunges 240 feet (73 m) into the Mononobe river,
Mirabu, eastern
Kōchi Prefecture,
Shikoku, killing 33 people and injuring 24.[14]
December 4 – United Kingdom –
Gillingham bus disaster. During an evening march in a badly-lit area, a
double-decker bus struck a company of fifty-two young members of the
Royal Marines Volunteer Cadet Corps, aged between ten and thirteen years. 24 cadets were killed and 18 injured; at the time it was the greatest loss of life of any road crash in British history. The crash was ruled accidental.[15]
1954
September 29 – Netherlands – The brakes and gear box of a Belgian tourist bus fail on the downhill slope of the
Cauberg, near
Valkenburg aan de Geul, hitting a pedestrian, then a monument and a building. 19 people were killed.[16]
November 12 –
Réunion – The brakes of a bus failed on the downhill slope of
Plateau-Caillou in
Saint-Paul. 54 people were killed.
1955
September 30 – United States -
Death of James Dean. The death of Hollywood actor
James Dean occurred near
Cholame, California. Dean had previously competed in several auto racing events, and was traveling to a sports car racing competition when his
Porsche 550 Spyder collided with another car at the junction of California State Route 46 (former 466) and California State Route 41. He was 24 years old.[17]
1957
April 27 – Soviet Union – 33 people were killed when a bus collided with a train in
Chelyabinsk Oblast.[18]
June 6 – United States – An early morning collision occurred 7 mi (11 km) north of
Fayetteville, North Carolina, where a flat bed truck packed with migrant workers pulled in front of a tractor-trailer hauling potatoes. It killed 21 people. At the time, it is the worst traffic fatality accident in U.S. history.[19]
December 22 – Greece – A suburban bus from
Ioannina to
Chouliarades carrying 34 people failed to complete a manoeuvre on the steep road near the village of
Petrovouni, Ioannina. It subsequently fell down the 350m slope to
Arachthos gorge, killing 29 people, 7 of whom were minors.[20]
1959
June 20 – West Germany –
Lauffen bus crash. A crowded bus collided with a train on a level crossing in
Lauffen am Neckar, killing 45 people. It was the worst bus crash in German history.[21]
September 10 – United States – A school bus stalled on railroad tracks in
Oakland, Maryland, was hit by a train, killing 7 children and injuring 11.[22]
1960s
1960
July 24 – Japan – A charter bus collides with a regular route bus, the charter bus plunging 270 ft (80 m) into a valley along the toll road of
Mount Hiei,
Ōtsu, Shiga, killing 30 people and injuring another 18.[14]
September 14 – Greece – A truck struck a suburban bus which subsequently crashed into an olive tree between
Athens and
Corinth, killing 11 people.[23]
November 29 – Canada – 17 high schoolers from the town of
Chipman, Alberta died after a school bus was hit by a train near
Lamont, Alberta. An additional 25 people were injured.[24]
1961
December 14 – United States – 20 schoolchildren were killed in a bus-train collision in
Evans, Colorado. The bus driver had stopped at the rural track but did not see or hear the train arriving. The bus had almost passed over the track when it was struck.[25]
1962
June 11 – Argentina –
Villa Soldati level crossing tragedy. A train struck a municipal bus in
Buenos Aires whilst it was carrying school children to kindergarten. 42 children were killed and 83 were injured.
1963
February 7 – New Zealand –
Brynderwyn bus accident. A bus in
Northland Region leaves the road after brake failure and rolls down a valley, killing 15 people, and becomes the worst road crash in New Zealand history up to that time.[26]
April 7 – Kenya – A bus returning from a church meeting plunged into the Tiva River,
Mitaboni,
Machakos, killing at least 72 people.[27]
May 18 – United States – A bus carrying 42 migrant agricultural workers crashed into a canal in
Belle Glade, Florida, killing 27 people.[28]
June 10 – United States – An open truck carrying 49
Boy Scouts and leaders stalls while climbing a hill en route to
Hole in the Rock,
Utah. It loses its brakes and plunges into Carcass Wash, killing 13 people.[29]
September 17 – United States –
Chualar bus crash. In the worst auto accident in U.S. history, a train hit a flatbed truck used as a bus at a rail crossing in
Chualar, California, killing 32 people and injuring 25.[30]
1965
January 1 – Peru – A
Huancayo-
Ayacucho regular route bus plunges 300 ft (90 m) into a ravine of the
Mantaro River, killing 31 people.[31]
January 10 – Mexico – A bus carrying soccer players and their families plunges 450 ft (140 m) into a ravine on the outskirts of
Dolores Hidalgo,
Guanajuato, killing 19 people and injuring 22.[32]
February 3 – Mexico – A regular route bus plunges 300 ft (90 m) off a cliff along the Mexico-
Ciudad Juárez expressway on the outskirts of
Zacatecas, killing 25 people and injuring 40.[33]
February 10 – Egypt – A truck carrying 66 people plunged into a canal on the outskirts of
El Ayyat, killing 36 people. The truck driver is arrested on suspicion of driving without a license.[34]
February 18 – Italy – A
Naples-
Salerno regular route bus plunges 15 m (50 ft) into a ravine on the Naples-
Pompeii expressway near
Mount Vesuvius, killing 17 people and injuring 60.[35]
March 2 – Austria – 12 Swedish schoolchildren and 2 Finnish girls on winter sports holiday were killed when the bus they were traveling in was swept away in an avalanche in
Obertauern.[36]
November 1 – Egypt – A crowded trolley bus plunges into the
Nile on the outskirts of
Dokki,
Giza, killing 74 people.[37]
July 25 – West Germany – A bus carrying Belgian children on vacation plunges off an
Autobahn bridge and crashes on its roof. 33 people were killed, including 27 children and the driver who fell asleep at the wheel. Only 4 people survived.[39]
June 6 – Philippines – A regular route bus navigating a sharp descending curve on a narrow mountain road near
Baler, Quezon, plunged into a ravine and burst into flames. 40 people were killed and 32 were injured.[41]
June 21 – Syria – An overcrowded vehicle carrying 35 workers crashed at
Maharda,
Al-Amam, killing 25 people.[42]
September 27 – South Korea – A regular route bus plunged off a mountain cliff on the outskirts of Myongju,
South Gyeongsang Province, killing 15 people and injuring 20.[43]
November 22 – Argentina – A bus plunged into a creek on the outskirts of
Reconquista, Santa Fe, killing 56 people and leaving 4 survivors.[44]
1971
May 10 – South Korea – At least 75 people drowned when a bus carrying nearly 90 passengers plunged into a reservoir near
Cheongpyeong.[45]
September 17 – Spain – In
Valdepeñas a truck carrying three tons of bricks crashed into a French Coach bus, killing 18, including 17
Quebecer tourists.[46]
June 25 – Spain – A bus carrying soccer fans home from a game plunged into a ravine near
Cáceres, killing 22 and injuring 34.[48]
August 25 – Netherlands – Many cars and trucks collided in sudden dense fog on the
A16 motorway near
Prinsenbeek, killing 13.[49] A fog warning system was installed after this crash, however a similar crash occurred 18 years later.
September 23 – Japan – An
Akakura-
Togakushi regular route bus carrying 82 passengers plunged from a single-lane road into a ravine in
Shinano, Nagano. 15 people were killed and 67 were injured.[14]
1973
July 18 – France – A bus carrying Belgian tourists plunged into a ravine in
Vizille, killing 43 people.[50]
September 26 – Australia – A tourist bus carrying pensioners on a sightseeing trip plunged over the
Tumut Pond Dam, killing 18 and injuring 21.[51][52]
November 4 – United States – A bus carrying gamblers to
Reno, Nevada crashed into a pillar five miles north of
Sacramento, California, killing 13 and injuring 31.[53]
November 20 – Mexico – An overcrowded bus carrying religious pilgrims skidded off a road and plunged into a ravine 50 miles southwest of Mexico City, killing at least 15 and injuring 43. A further 10 were reported missing. Most of the passengers were children.[54]
1974
January 15 – United States –
Blythe, California bus crash. A bus carrying farm laborers missed a ninety-degree turn on an intersection and fell into a drainage canal, killing 19.
July 28 – Brazil – A crowded bus and a truck collided near
Belém, killing 69 people.[50]
July 30 – United States – A 1972 Oldsmobile station wagon, occupied by four children and four adults, collided with a Soo Line freight train at the Fibre Crossing, which did not have lights or gates installed. All eight were killed.[55]
1975
January 1 – Japan – A charter bus carrying 62 passengers plunged 100 ft (30 m) into Aoki Lake,
Ōmachi, Nagano, killing 24 people.[14]
April 2 – France – A bus carrying religious pilgrims suffered a brake failure and plunged off a bridge near
Vizille, killing 27 and injuring 16.[56]
June 15 – Austria – A tour bus carrying pensioners suffered a brake failure and went over an embankment into a ravine near
Villach, killing 21 and injuring 23 in Austria's worst bus disaster.[58]
December 12 - Canada - A
Go Transit train strikes a bus on a level crossing in
Toronto killing 10 and injuring a further 20.[59]
1976
February 16 – Sweden – The worst traffic accident in Sweden occurred outside
Axamo,
Jönköping. Overheated tires caused a bus fire, killing 15 and injuring 28.[60]
August 22 – Brazil – Former president
Juscelino Kubitschek was killed when his car crashed into a truck on the
Dutra Highway. His driver was also killed.
December 21 – France – A school bus carrying mentally handicapped children returning from the
Édouard Séguin Children Medical Center plunged into the River
Rhône on the outskirts of
Lyon, killing at least 13 people.[62]
1977
June 9 – Russia – A truck crashes into a crowd at a downtown
Moscow bus stop, killing eight people and injuring 18.[63]
August 11 – Japan – A charter bus plunged 120 ft (37 m) into a ravine at Nagatoro bridge,
Kōfu,
Yamanashi Prefecture, killing 11 people and injuring 39.[14]
1978
January 22 – Poland –
Katastrofa autobusu koło Osiecznicy [
pl]. Soviet Army truck loaded with parts of a pontoon bridge collided with crowded bus, killing 15 people and injuring 14.
July 11 – Spain –
Los Alfaques disaster. In
La Ràpita, a
tank truck containing 45 m³ of
liquefied propylene left the road and veered into the Los Alfaques camping site after colliding with a building. The resulting
fire ball was more than 100 meters in diameter and killed at least 215 people (some sources speak of 216 or even 270), and injured 200.[64]
August 4 – Canada – the
Eastman Bus Crash occurred when a bus carrying mentally handicapped people plunged into a lake in
Eastman, Quebec, killing 40 people. Only seven people survived.[65]
November 15 – Poland –
Katastrofa drogowa pod Żywcem [
pl]. Two buses with miners going to work plunged into the river Jezioro Żywieckie near
Żywiec, killing 33 people.
December 21 – Spain – A school bus was struck by a locomotive on a level crossing near
Salamanca, killing 28 and injuring 36.[66]
1979
April 10 – Spain – A bus carrying pupils from a trip to
Madrid and
Toledo plunged into a river near
Benavente, killing 50 of the 60 people aboard.[67]
June 2 – South Korea – A bus collided with a truck and plunged into a river near
Sarnchok, killing around 20 and injuring 20.[68]
June 9 - Canada - A bus carrying seniors lost control during a rainstorm and crashed into an overpass near
Sainte-Rosalie, Quebec killing 11 seniors and injuring another 20.[69]
August 16 – Yugoslavia – A bus collided with a truck and plunged into a river near
Novi Sad killing 14 and injuring 40.[70]
1980s
1980
March 3 – Soviet Union – A city bus 62 caught fire in
Minsk after driving into a pool of gasoline spilled from a fuel truck, burning 23 people to death.[71]
June 5 – United States – A tour bus rolled off the highway near
Jasper, Arkansas, killing 22 people and injuring 19.[72]
June 29 – Pakistan – A bus carrying more than 100 women and children plunged into a canal in Upper Jhelam, near
Mirpur,
Azad Kashmir, and at least 90 people drowned as a result.[73]
June 29 – Romania –
Huțani bus accident. A bus carrying 83 people went off a bridge and overturned into a deep marsh near
Huțani, a village in
Vlădeni, Botoșani, killing 48 people and injuring 35.[74]
1981
April 26 – Mexico – A head-on collision of a bus and a truck near
Tijuana killed 30 people and injured 10 to 15.[75]
May 22 – Mexico – A head-on collision of a bus and a truck in
Chiapas state killed 33 people.[76]
September 29 – Spain – A head-on collision of a bus and a truck in
Toledo Province killed at least 25 people.[77]
November 28 – Chile – A collision between a bus and a truck 200 miles south of
Santiago on the
Pan-American Highway killed 32 and injured 10.[78]
1982
January 31 – Chile – Two buses collide and plunge into a
gorge on the outskirts of Santiago, killing 14 people and injuring 70.[79]
August 1 – France –
Beaune coach crash. Two buses carrying children collided with cars and burst into flames in
Beaune, killing 53 people, including 44 children in the worst highway crash in France.[81]
September 12 – Switzerland – A bus carrying German tourists collides with a train on a level crossing near
Zürich, killing 39 people. The barriers were not closed, because the operator pressed a wrong button. Only two passengers survived the crash. It was the worst road crash in Switzerland to date.[83]
September 19 – Australia – A bus carrying students from
Merredin College returning from a football game in
Perth ran off the road and struck a tree, killing 10 and injuring eight.[84]
November 3 – Afghanistan –
Salang Tunnel fire – Hundreds were killed in a tunnel fire after a disaster involving a Soviet fuel convoy. Estimates are as great as 2,700 dead.[85]
February 11 – Greece – A Greek Railways bus carrying passengers from
Thessaloniki to
Athens was involved with a head-on collision with a truck 80 miles northwest of Athens killing 17 and injuring 10.[87]
April 10 – Soviet Union – A bus collided with another bus and plunged into a river. 37 people were killed, 46 injured.
April 26 – Italy – A bus carrying students from
Naples to
Lake Garda collided with a trailer-truck in a highway tunnel just south of
Florence, killing 12 and injuring 35.[88]
May 24 – Italy – A bus carrying elderly pilgrims from the city of
Monza skidded off a highway and fell into a ravine near
Tignale, killing all 14 occupants.[89]
September 14 – Austria – A bus carrying Hungarian tourists plunged off a mountain road near
Frohnleiten, killing 13 people and injuring 33.[90]
November 1 – Thailand – A bus collided with a
motorcycle and hit a second bus 600 km (370 mi) northeast of
Bangkok, killing 21 people and injuring 40.[91]
December 18 – Italy – A bus carrying sailors from
Aulla to
Turin to watch a soccer match between
A.C. Milan and
Juventus FC skidded off an overpass near
Genoa, killing 34 and injuring four.[92]
1984
June 11 – Venezuela – A bus carrying military cadets crashed into a bridge and caught fire, killing 33 people and injuring eight.[93]
September 24 – India – A bus plunges into a gorge in
Uttar Pradesh, killing 42 people and injuring 15.[94]
December 11 – United Kingdom – During dense fog on the
M25 motorway near
Limpsfield, 26 vehicles collided, one of which was a petrol tanker which exploded, killing nine.[95][96]
December 24 – South Africa – A bus carrying contract workers from
Cape Town crashed near
Cradock, Eastern Cape killing 42 and injuring 25.[97]
1985
January 12 – South Korea – A bus going from
Muju County to
Daejeon plunged into an icy river near
Yeongdong County, killing 40 of the 41 people on board. Passenger Kang Yu-il was the only survivor.[98]
January 27 – Japan – A bus carrying students and professors from Japan Welfare University skidded off a road near
Nagano and plunged into a dam, killing 25 and injuring eight.[99]
March 27 – South Africa –
Westdene dam disaster – A school bus crashed through a barrier in
Westdene,
Gauteng, and plunged into a dam, killing 42 school children.
June 11 – Israel –
HaBonim disaster - A bus carrying school children on a field trip collided with a train near
MoshavHabonim, killing 21 people, including 19 children.[101]
September 22 – Pakistan – A school bus rolls over in
Layyah, killing 30 children.[102]
October 21 – United Kingdom – A coach collided with stationary traffic due to construction work on the
M6 motorway in Lancashire, between
Preston and
Lancaster, killing 13 people.[103]
November 5 – Italy – A bus carrying mostly students and workers from
Leonforte to
Catania skidded off a bridge, killing 15 and injuring six.[104]
June 23 – United Kingdom – A van returning from the
Glastonbury Festival collides with a car on the M4 motorway, killing a total of 13 passengers, including nine in the van and four in the car.[107]
July 26 – United Kingdom –
Lockington rail crash. A train derails after colliding with a
Ford Escort at a rail crossing in
Lockington, Yorkshire, England, killing 8 people aboard the train and one aboard the car.
March 29 – China – A bus plunges off a cliff in
Shaanxi, killing 19 people and injuring 28.[109]
July 3 – Spain – A bus carrying elderly vacationers skidded off a highway and fell into a ravine near
Ourense, killing 34 and injuring 11.[110]
July 4 – Portugal – A bus carrying tourists skidded into a house near
Covilhã, killing 15 and injuring at least 30.[111]
July 26 – Brazil – A tourist bus, an Urban bus and a car collided with each other in Nova Lima, killing 68 and injuring an uncertain number of people, it is the deadliest traffic collision in Brazilian history.
[1]
November 17 – Spain – A bus carrying workers to
Madrid overturned near
Toledo, killing at least 10 and injuring 37.[112]
December 11 – Egypt – A bus carrying local primary school children returning from the
Giza Zoo was smashed by a fast-speed train at an unmarked railroad level crossing at Ein Sham, on the outskirts of
Cairo, killing 62 children and injuring 67.[113]
1988
March 25 – Spain – An express train hit a nursery bus near
Juneda,
Catalonia, killing 15, including 12 children.[114]
April 1 – South Korea – A bus plunged into the
Hangang river in
Seoul after a tire blew out, killing 18 and injuring 36.[115]
August 12 – Iran – Two buses collide on the highway between
Tehran and
Tabriz, killing 30 people and injuring 50.[116]
August 15 – Norway –
Måbødalen bus accident. 16 people, including 12 children, die when a bus rams into a concrete wall in a tunnel 100 km (60 mi) east of
Bergen.[117]
February 21 – India – A bus falls into a ravine near
Shimla, killing 35 people.[118]
October 12 – China – A bus ignites after toppling into a ditch in
Shaanxi, killing 43 people and injuring 40.[119]
September 22 – Yugoslavia – At the
level crossing in
Pojatno, a passenger train on the
Zagreb-
Varaždin route, travelling at a speed of 80 km/h (49.7 mph) ran into one of three buses. They were carrying 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade students from the
elementary school "Ante Kovačić" from
Marija Gorica on an excursion to
Stubičke Toplice. As a result of the accident, 14 students died.[122]
October 8 – Canada –
Cormier-Village Hayride Accident. 13 people were killed and 30 were injured near
Shediac when a transport truck carrying logs spilled its cargo while passing a loaded
hayride.
March 20 – United States – Whilst on tour, a semi trailer rammed into a
tour bus containing singer
Gloria Estefan, husband
Emilio, their son and three other passengers in
Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, severely injuring Gloria. Following extensive surgery, she returned to an international tour ten months after the crash.[125]
April 22 – Cuba – Two buses collided in
Havana, killing 11 people and injuring 13.[126]
June 3 – France –
Joigny coach crash. A
Shropshire based
double-decker coach bus suffered a blowout of the front tyre on the autoroute
A6 near
Auxerre when it was 20 mph in excess of the speed limit. This caused it to crash, killing 11 people and injuring 61 British tourists, all returning from
Costa Brava. This resulted in a legal action against
Avon Rubber, manufacturer of the tyre of the crash coach, its driver and his employer; resulting in the longest legal case in France.[127]
July 8 – Soviet Union – A bus ignored a barrier at a railroad crossing and collided with a passenger train near
Petrozavodsk,
Karelia,
Russian SFSR, killing 27 people (34 according to unofficial sources) and injuring 24.[128]
November 4 – South Korea – A bus carrying classmates of former President
Chun Doo-hwan crashed into a reservoir near
Inje after colliding with a truck, killing at least 21 people and injuring 20.[130]
November 5 – Italy – A bus carrying elderly vacationers from
Arenzano to
Gravellona Toce skidded off a bridge near
Ovada, killing 30 occupants and injuring many others.[131]
November 9 – Netherlands – In sudden dense fog on the
A16 motorway west of
Breda, several cars and trucks collide in a huge pile-up. 10 people were killed and 28 injured.[132]
July 31 – United States – A bus carrying about 60 Girl Scouts overturned on a desert mountain road near
California Highway 111, not far from
Palm Springs, killing 7 people.[135]
August 4 – Zimbabwe –
Nyanga bus accident. A crowded bus carrying school children from Regina Coeli Mission in Nyanga loses control and crashes in
Troutbeck, Manicaland, killing 91 people, including 82 children.
August 7 – Austria – The brakes of a Hungarian tourist bus fail in
Styria, killing 15 people and injuring 28.[83]
August 19 – Spain – A bus carrying visitors from
Barcelona to
Seville Expo '92 falls down an embankment on the
A7 highway near
Torreblanca, killing 45 and injuring 11.[138]
September 6 – Germany – Near
Donaueschingen in the
Black Forest, a bus collides into a passenger car and is slit open by a
crash barrier, killing 21 people and injuring 32.[139]
1993
January 4 – Mexico – A tour bus carrying mostly American tourists from
Cancún to
Chichen Itza crashed into a utility pole and caught fire, killing at least 24 passengers and injuring 23.[140]
January 9 – Argentina – Three buses collide and ignite on a highway in
Santo Tomé, Corrientes, killing 55 people and injuring 70.[141]
April 7 – Bulgaria – At least 29 people were killed and 18 injured when a Turkish coach fell from a bridge into the
Yantra river near Byala, after colliding with a lorry. Another heavy Turkish lorry slammed into a crane set up on the bridge to lift the wreckage out of the water.[142][143]
July 17 – Canada – A minibus carrying senior citizens from
Verchères,
Quebec on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Anthony of Padua near La Bouchette collided with a pick-up truck near
Lac Saint-Jean, killing 19 people.[144]
November 10 – France – A pile-up on autoroute
A10 near
Mirambeau leaves 15 people dead and 53 injured.[145]
November 10 – United Kingdom – A bus carrying Canadian and American tourists collided with a van and skidded off the M2 Motorway near
Faversham killing 10 and injuring 36.[146]
November 17 – United Kingdom –
M40 minibus crash. A crash left 12 children dead when their minibus collided with a maintenance vehicle near
Warwick, England, causing new road security campaigns.
1994
January 9 - Indonesia – A bus carrying French tourists on the island of
Bali plunged into a ravine after trying to avoid another vehicle, killing 10 people and injuring 19.[147]
January 3 - Philippines – An overloaded bus missed a bridge and fell off a ravine in
Echague, Isabela, killing at least 31 people and injuring 36.[148]
March 12 – India – A truck carrying benzene rammed a bus outside
Sriperumbudur,
Tamil Nadu, killing 110 people.[149]
May 22 – United Kingdom – A bus carrying veterans from
Christchurch on a day trip to a brewery in
Cardiff veered off the
M4 motorway and plunged into a river near
Bristol, killing 10 and injuring 20.[150]
June 16 – Spain – A bus carrying pensioners collided with a truck and a car near
La Ràpita, killing 11 people and injuring 25.[151]
July 10 – France – A bus carrying mostly Spanish students from
Amsterdam to
Barcelona slammed into a road barrier near
Roquemaure, Gard, killing 22 people and injuring 31.[152]
February 10 – Japan – A huge shard of rock weighing about 21,000 tons smashed through Toyohama tunnel, national highway route 229,
Yoichi, Hokkaido, crushing a
Shakotan-
Otaru regular route bus and a car, killing 20 people.[14]
February 25 – Bolivia – Two buses collide head-on near
La Paz, killing at least 35 people.[154]
February 28 – Spain – A charter bus collides with a car near
Bailen, killing 29 people and injuring 17.[155]
September 29 – Japan – A minivan carrying construction workers crashed on national highway route 9,
Muraoka, Hyōgo, killing 10 people.[14]
October 11 – Estonia –
Pala accident. A school bus collided with a wood truck in
Jõgeva County, killing 8 people and injuring 29.
1997
January 14 – Egypt – A crowded city bus plunged into the
Nile in
Cairo, killing 39 people and injuring 24.[156]
January 19 – India – A bus plunged into a river after losing control on a curvy road in
Punjab, killing 29 people and injuring 12.[157]
March 10 – United Kingdom –
M42 motorway crash. 3 people were killed and 60 injured in a 160 vehicle collision on the
M42 motorway due to fog.[158]
May 8 – India – 70 people heading to a wedding were killed when a truck plunged into a gorge in
Hamirpur,
Himachal Pradesh.[159]
July 15 – Spain – A bus carrying Japanese tourists crashed into another vehicle and caught fire near Toledo, killing 10 and injuring four.[160]
October 13 – Canada –
Les Éboulements bus accident. In
Quebec, 44 people were killed when a bus plunged into a ravine, the worst bus crash in Canadian history.
November 6 – Cuba – A passenger train crashes into a bus in
Holguín Province, killing at least 56 people.[161]
November 27 – India – At least 34 people drowned when their bus fell into a canal in
Karnataka.[162]
December 8 – Rwanda – 22 people were killed when a lorry collided with a minibus.[163]
1998
January 2 – India – Six people were killed and two others were seriously injured when a bus and a jeep collided in
Rajasthan.[164]
January 5 – Zimbabwe – 43 people were killed and more than 60 seriously injured when a bus plunged down a steep slope in
Nyanga after the brakes failed.[165]
January 7 – Kenya – A
Meru-
Nairobi Kenyan Bus Service regular route bus lost control of the vehicle and plummeted down 100 ft (30 m) embankment into Nithi river, killing 58 people and injuring 42.[166]
February 28 – India – 20 people died and 41 were injured when a school bus collided with a city bus at Ariapatti Vilakku, near Valandu in
Tamil Nadu.[167]
March 9 – Saudi Arabia – At least 16 people were killed and six missing after their bus plunged into a flooded river.[168]
April 15 – South Africa – A school bus was involved in a five-vehicle collision near
Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, killing 31 people, including 27 children.[169]
May 5 – Tanzania – At least 72 people drowned when the bus they were travelling in was swept into a river in
Tanga Region.[171]
July 15 – India – At least 45 people were killed when a bus plunged into a river in
Arunachal Pradesh.[172]
July 26 – South Africa – At least 19 people were killed and 60 injured near
Zeerust when a bus collided with a truck on a sharp bend and overturned.[173]
August 12 – Montenegro – A bus crashed down a ravine and killed at least 18 people.[174]
August 26 – India – At least 17 people were killed when a bus hit a tractor trailer in
Uttar Pradesh.[175]
August 30 – Nepal – At least 21 people were killed when a bus they were travelling in left the road and crashed down a hillside.[176]
September 8 – Brazil – A
tanker truck flipped and exploded on a highway north of
São Paulo, setting fire to two buses and killing at least 50 people.[177]
September 20 – Turkmenistan – About 40 people were killed in a bus-train collision.[178]
September 27 – Peru – At least 23 people died and 18 were injured when a bus fell off a cliff near the southern town of Mayoc.[179]
November 11 – India – At least 40 people were killed when a bus plunged down a mountain gorge in
Arunachal Pradesh.[180]
December 14 – India – At least 19 people were killed and 35 were injured when a bus fell into a gorge in the
Pithoragarh district.[181]
December 23 – South Africa – At least 21 people killed when a bus collided with a large truck.[182]
December 25 – India – At least 19 people were killed in
Andhra Pradesh when a bus crashed into a train.[183]
December 31 – United States – 100 cars crashed on an ice-slicked section of
Interstate 75 in central
Michigan, killing one and injuring 39.[184]
1999
January 9 – Georgia – A bus carrying funeral mourners ran off the road and plunged into a river below an outskirt of
Stepantsminda,
Khevi, killing 38 people.[185]
January 21 – Philippines – At least 22 were killed when a bus fell into a ravine near
Baguio.[186]
January 31 – South Africa – At least 31 people were killed in KwaZulu-Natal when a bus plunged off a bridge between
Kokstad and
Johannesburg.[188]
February 26 – Sweden – A minibus east of
Karlskoga got stuck on a truck, was dragged along the road and caught fire. Seven children and two teachers were killed.[189]
March 24 – France and Italy –
Mont Blanc tunnel fire. 39 people were killed in a tunnel fire between France and Italy.
April 30 – Greece – A small vehicle collided with a stopped tanker truck loaded with propane and started a fire near
Kamena Vourla, Fthiotis. A huge explosion followed several minutes later killing five people and injuring 14.[190]
May 9 – United States – A tour bus crashed into a concrete wall on
Interstate 610 in
New Orleans, killing 22 people and injuring 24.[191]
May 29 – Austria – 12 people were killed and 50 were injured in a collision and fire in
Tauern Tunnel.
June 6 – Kenya – At least eight people died after a bus burst a tyre and overturned in
Naivasha on the main Nairobi to Nakuru highway. In another crash 12 were killed when a bus collided with another vehicle.[192]
June 8 – India – At least 94 people were killed, including 11 children, after a bus plunged into a lake in
Karnataka.[193]
July 18 – India – A Kiari-
Shimla HRTC regular route bus carrying 90 passengers plunged into a 40 ft (12 m) deep gorge on the outskirts of Baghar,
Himachal Pradesh, killing 18 people and injuring 55.[194]
September 3 – Canada –
Ontario Highway 401 crash. Dense fog on
Highway 401 near
Windsor, Ontario reduced visibility to less than a meter and caused an 87-vehicle pileup and fire that killed eight people and injured 33. Many vehicles were fused together by the intense heat.[196]
September 16 – Peru – Two road crashes involving buses killed at least 16 people and injured 48 others.[197]
September 19 – Spain – At least 20 people died in a bus crash near
Zaragoza.[198]
September 22 – South Africa – At least 11 people were killed in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck.[199]
September 28 – South Africa – A bus carrying British tourists crashed near
Lydenburg after its brakes failed, killing 29 and injuring seven.[200]
October 4 – South Africa – At least 19 people were killed and 47 seriously injured after a bus crashed down a river embankment.[201]
October 5 – Indonesia – At least 45 people were killed in a bus crash in
West Java between
Jakarta and
Bandung.[202]
October 9 – Israel – A tourbus in
Galilee hit a slick spot on the road, rolled downhill and killed 17 people.[203]
October 25 – India – A bus swerved to avoid hitting a cow and skidded off a mountain road into a deep gorge, killing 27 people and injuring 47 on the way home from a temple in
Hoshiarpur district, 70 miles (110 km) northeast of
Amritsar.[204]
November 7 – India – At least 50 people were killed in a bus crash in
Jammu and Kashmir.[205]
^"Mary Ward 1827–1869". Famous Offaly People. Offaly Historical & Archaeological Society. Archived from
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^Flores, Lori A. (Summer 2013). "A Town Full of Dead Mexicans: The Salinas Valley Bracero Tragedy of 1963, the End of the Bracero Program, and the Evolution of California's Chicano Movement". The Western Historical Quarterly. 44 (2): 124–143.
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10.2307/westhistquar.44.2.0124.
^The Derrick (Oil City, Pennsylvania via AP; January 4, 1965; p. 2 (available through newspaperarchive.com))
^"Motorway mayhem". Commercial Motor Archive. December 22, 1984. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
^"How Sheppey avoided loss of life". BBC News. September 6, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2023. In 1984, nine people died after 26 vehicles collided on the M25 near Clacket Lane.