A Thread For Discussing Disasters

I didn't realise until very recently that Rammstein were named after that.

The thing about leaving an impression as a child is interesting - I think that's why I find reading about disasters so fascinating. In my formative years I saw Valley Parade, King's Cross and Piper Alpha burning, a plane lying across the motorway at Kegworth, the destruction of Lockerbie, the Herald of Free Enterprise lying on its side, the Marchioness, Hillsborough, Clapham Junction, the M40 crash...
All of those over maybe 8-10 years, all involving British people, all covered to death by the news. If you grew up in Britain in the late 80s/early 90s I think you're desensitised to - and morbidly curious about - bad shit happening.
Oh the INSANE run of disasters during that era in the UK was bonkers. Hard to not capture the imagination in some way.
 
I just found out that happened here, never heard of it before, it's horrifying.
Well I wouldn’t say any of them aren’t horrifying :D
 


I am rather PARTIAL to a hypothetical disaster documentary.
 
In my formative years I saw Valley Parade, King's Cross and Piper Alpha burning, a plane lying across the motorway at Kegworth, the destruction of Lockerbie, the Herald of Free Enterprise lying on its side, the Marchioness, Hillsborough, Clapham Junction, the M40 crash...
Kinda weird to think you were in all of those places at those exact moments! What are the chances! Maybe you were a child X-Men and you really needed Professor X to take you away and teach you about your powers.
 
All my life I've had a recurring dream about seeing a plane crash from a distance. Just waiting for it to really happen.
 
I remember Lockerbie very well...poor John Peel was doing the Festive 50 as the news was breaking and had to play "Crash" by the Primitives...

Hillsborough and Bradford I recall well. Piper Alpha too.

The more recent one that sticks is the dancefloor collapsing at a wedding...I remember seeing that clip and for the tiniest, split-second, it was funny...until I realised it was real, it wasn't staged and it was about the least funny thing of which one could conceive. Horrific.
 
All my life I've had a recurring dream about seeing a plane crash from a distance. Just waiting for it to really happen.
Weird you say that, I dream I'm watching a plane and it will go behind a building or a hill and I'll think 'I bet that's going to explode', then it does.
Should we make a pact never to be on the same flight?
 
I remember Lockerbie very well...poor John Peel was doing the Festive 50 as the news was breaking and had to play "Crash" by the Primitives...

Hillsborough and Bradford I recall well. Piper Alpha too.

The more recent one that sticks is the dancefloor collapsing at a wedding...I remember seeing that clip and for the tiniest, split-second, it was funny...until I realised it was real, it wasn't staged and it was about the least funny thing of which one could conceive. Horrific.
Versailles dance hall in Israel. Don't worry, I remember that clip doing the rounds and folk laughing at it. It seemed too ridiculous to be real, like a Hollyoaks disaster.
 
The more recent one that sticks is the dancefloor collapsing at a wedding...I remember seeing that clip and for the tiniest, split-second, it was funny...until I realised it was real, it wasn't staged and it was about the least funny thing of which one could conceive. Horrific.
Oh GOD, that was one such HORROR. The movement from joy to trauma is just horrible to watch.

Naturally the news broadcast it non stop for days.
 
I might ADD a ‘What do you think happened to MH370 poll’ :disco:
 
Train accidents are another one that I can spend many hours reading about on Wikipedia. Quintinshill and Balvano are particularly unpleasant in it being so clear how they came to happen.
I had not heard of either of these. The Balvano one is just... tragic and awful, especially due to not really being the fault of anyone involved. Quintinshill is awful too, but more baffling. Are there any others you'd recommend reading up on? Really deadly ones only please!
 
"Really recommend" :D

Yes, never get on a plane, train, ferry, enter a large building or in fact leave the house EVER again
 
I had not heard of either of these. The Balvano one is just... tragic and awful, especially due to not really being the fault of anyone involved. Quintinshill is awful too, but more baffling. Are there any others you'd recommend reading up on? Really deadly ones only please!
Santiago de Compostela
Ufa train disaster
Eschede
Fiumarella rail disaster
Gare de Lyon 1988
 
My favourite disaster is the 1883 Victoria Hall disaster. 183 children, all aged less than 14, died in a stampede to get free toys. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Hall_disaster

I mean it's absolutely tragic of course, but I find it curiously fascinating. We wouldn't have had emergency exits without it.
Any that involve children are grimly fascinating. The cinema fire in China in 1994:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_Karamay_fire

Nearly 300 children were ordered to stay seated until the communist party officials in attendance had left. Kind of undermines the fundamental tenet of communism being that no one person is more important than another.
 
I usually find myself investigating this stuff almost exclusively at 4am if I can't sleep (along with death by crocodile, snake and most terrifying ways to die etc). I don't know what it is about that time/moment that brings out the most horrific curiosities but it's the same as how everything in your life feels 100 times worse at that point as well. It's like the hour of psychological SELF HARM
 
"Really recommend" :D

Yes, never get on a plane, train, ferry, enter a large building or in fact leave the house EVER again

I mean we can’t fucking leave the house at the minute :D
 
In my formative years I saw Valley Parade, King's Cross and Piper Alpha burning, a plane lying across the motorway at Kegworth, the destruction of Lockerbie, the Herald of Free Enterprise lying on its side, the Marchioness, Hillsborough, Clapham Junction, the M40 crash...

 
I’ve just discovered the Facebook app’s ‘Crisis Response’ tab. Real time feed of disasters worldwide which you can use to check whether your friends are okay.

There’s been a burst dam in Uzbekistan today apparently.
 
My hairs a disaster

discuss.
 
I’ve just discovered the Facebook app’s ‘Crisis Response’ tab. Real time feed of disasters worldwide which you can use to check whether your friends are okay.

There’s been a burst dam in Uzbekistan today apparently.
That's interesting, I've just had a bit of a nosy around it now.
 
I didn't realise until very recently that Rammstein were named after that.

The thing about leaving an impression as a child is interesting - I think that's why I find reading about disasters so fascinating. In my formative years I saw Valley Parade, King's Cross and Piper Alpha burning, a plane lying across the motorway at Kegworth, the destruction of Lockerbie, the Herald of Free Enterprise lying on its side, the Marchioness, Hillsborough, Clapham Junction, the M40 crash...
All of those over maybe 8-10 years, all involving British people, all covered to death by the news. If you grew up in Britain in the late 80s/early 90s I think you're desensitised to - and morbidly curious about - bad shit happening.

Quite. Kegworth is quite literally up the road from where I grew up, I've got mates from back home who's parents were some of the people who went to help, and my Dad was at Hillsborough. I still remember him coming home looking quite shocked, and he's a hard cunt.

I think that's why I've always harboured an interest in disasters, I was convinced for years I'd die in a plane crash.
 

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