Hamont railway accident

The Hamont railway accident was an explosion on November 18, 1918 in Hamont-Achel , Belgium .

During the retreat of the German army after the Compiègne armistice , an ammunition transport train exploded in the Belgian- Dutch border station at Hamont , which is on the Iron Rhine , the railway line from Antwerp to Düsseldorf . The cause of the explosion is said to have been fireworks set off by children. The explosion triggered another in a second ammunition train. The explosions also damaged three hospital trains , one of which was destroyed. Many victims were buried under collapsing houses around the station.

Depending on the source, 1007 or 1750 people died in the disaster, most of them German soldiers, and a large part of Hamont was destroyed. The accident is thus one of the most casualties in the world to date on railroad accidents.

See also

• List of the largest man-made, non-nuclear explosions

literature

• Guido Tijskens, Luc van de Sijpe: De ramp van November 18, 1918 te Hamont (= Grevenbroeker echo's, vol. 65). Divorced Heemkundige Kring “De Goede Stede Hamont”, Hamont 2008 (Dutch).

Web links

• Illustrated website about the accident (Flemish)
• Message from the Evening Post dated November 25, 1918
• Report in The New York Times

Coordinates: 51 ° 14 ′ 46.7 ″  N , 5 ° 32 ′ 39.1 ″  E