Cuautla railway accident
The Cuautla railway accident in the Mexican state of Morelos was caused by a collapsing bridge over a river between June 22nd and 24th, 1881 (different sources mention different days in this period) . More than 200 deaths and 40 injuries were the result. This was the first rail accident worldwide with a three-digit death toll.
requirements
The narrow-gauge Mexico City – Cuautla railway was only opened on June 18, 1881. On this occasion the President of Mexico, Manuel del Refugio González Flores , traveled to Cuautla with an escort of 300 soldiers . 100 of them drove back on June 20, 1881, the rest were in the train of misfortune on their way back to Mexico City . The vehicles of this train consisted of a locomotive at the front, a sliding locomotive at the end of the train, a passenger car for the officers , five boxcars for the crews and their families and two other boxcars with 80 to 100 barrels of brandy . The train left Cuautla in the late evening.
Before the accident it had rained heavily, which caused the rivers to swell. The foundations of the bridge at the accident site were washed away.
the accident
When the train pulled up on the bridge, it gave in immediately. The entire train crashed into the river. Embers from the steam engine ignited the brandy. Most of those who survived the fall burned to death in the wreckage of the train.
examination
The following investigation established that the sole reason for the accident was the inadequate construction of the bridge. According to a newspaper report, however, the battalion commander of the transported military unit is said to have forced the engine driver at gunpoint to drive over the bridge.
literature
- Edgar A. Haine: Railroad Wrecks . New York 1993. ISBN 978-0-8453-4844-4 , pp. 174f.
Web links
- Railroad Disaster in Mexico . In: The New York Times v. June 26, 1881
- The Railroad Horror in Mexico . In: The New York Times v. June 28, 1881
Individual evidence
- ^ Cause of the Morelos Accident . The New York Times, July 1, 1881 article.
- ^ A Mexican Horror . The Toronto Mail, Article July 14, 1881, p. 2