Tangiwai railway accident
The railway accident of Tangiwai ( English Tangiwai disaster ) on December 24, 1953 is the worst railway accident in the history of New Zealand with 151 fatalities .
Starting position
The North Island Main Trunk Railway connects the country's largest city, Auckland , with the capital Wellington on the North Island of New Zealand . It crosses the Whangaehu River on an approximately 60 meter long bridge at the foot of the Ruapehu volcano . To secure the bridge, several tons of concrete blocks were placed around its supports, the space between the concrete blocks and the pillars was filled with rubble stones.
The crater of the Ruapehu contains a crater lake , the contents of which can escape into the valley as a lahar (mudslide) in the event of an outbreak . The lake was held back by a dam made of volcanic ash. Amateur geologists had recognized the unstable location of the dam and turned to the authorities, but their warnings were not taken seriously there.
On the evening of December 24, 1953, the Ruapehu broke out. As a result, the dam gave way and the water of the crater lake, mixed with ash and rubble, shot in a large wave along the course of the Whangaehu River into the valley.
the accident
The Tangiwai Railway Bridge was badly damaged by the lahar a few minutes before the train reached it. The security with concrete blocks and rubble stones did not withstand the force of the lahar. The investigation of the accident later found that the stability of the bridge (especially the central pillar) had already been damaged by an earlier tidal wave (presumably 1925).
At around 10:21 p.m., the night express from Wellington to Auckland headed for the Tangiwai Railway Bridge. A driver from Taihape had to stop his car because he could not pass the flooded road bridge over the river. He ran towards the train with a flashlight to warn the driver . This initiated an emergency braking about 200 meters before the bridge . Nevertheless, the train reached the bridge , which gave way under the weight of the steam locomotive . The locomotive fell into the Whangaehu River and tore the tender and the five second- class passenger cars with it into the depths, where they drifted downstream with the lahar (one more than two kilometers away). Few people were able to escape from these cars.
The four first-class cars, the company car and a mail car remained on the track . However, the front passenger car was on the dump at the edge of the demolition. The driver and the conductor from the escort car hurried to the aid of the people in this car. Although the car crashed shortly afterwards and drifted a little downstream, the two managed to free almost all passengers through the broken window. Only one trapped girl drowned.
consequences
Of the 285 travelers, 134 survived the disaster and 151 died. The victims included 148 second class passengers (only 28 out of a total of 176 survived), the first class girl, the train driver and the stoker . Most of the fatalities were drowned. The Tangiwai railway accident surpassed the Hyde railway accident of June 4, 1943, which claimed 21 lives and was the most momentous in New Zealand to date.
Some corpses were only discovered days later at a greater distance along the river, 20 people remained undetectable in the rubble of the train and in the mud of the lahar despite an intensive search. It is believed that the bodies were carried to the mouth of the Whangaehu about 120 kilometers further south and from there into the Tasman Sea . The identification of the dead proved difficult and was unsuccessful in several cases.
Many of the travelers were on their way to Christmas visits. The rescue teams found gifts, teddy bears and toys in the mud of the lahar for days.
At the time of the disaster, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were visiting New Zealand. In her Christmas address broadcast from Auckland , the Queen mentioned the misfortune and expressed her condolences to the New Zealand people. Prince Philip attended the state funeral for the 151 victims.
When the Wellington-Auckland train crosses the new bridge on Christmas Eve these days, it slows down and a bouquet of flowers for the victims is thrown into the river.
As a consequence, the New Zealand Railways Department installed a lahar warning system to monitor the water levels of the rivers. The signaling system has also been adapted: if a track breaks, all signals that secure the corresponding section of the railway line immediately switch to "Stop".
literature
- Geoff Conly et al. Graham Stewart: Tragedy on the Track: Tangiwai and other New Zealand Railway Accidents . Wellington 1986. ISBN 978-1-86934-008-7
Web links and sources
- NZHistory.net.nz compilation - with film and sound (s)
- Christchurch City Libraries fact collection (s)
- Danger ahead! (Danger ahead!) - Article about the railway accident (s)
Coordinates: 39 ° 27 ′ 51 ″ S , 175 ° 34 ′ 36 ″ E