The Worst World Disasters of All Time. Kevin Baker
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Название: The Worst World Disasters of All Time
Автор: Kevin Baker
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Руководства
isbn: 9781456623432
isbn:
It is suspected that this parasite has existed for well over 50,000 years, although the advances in agriculture played a role in increasing the population of parasites. Some scientists believe that some types of plasmodium originated from apes. The disease plays a large role in slowing down economic development of regions at risk and has been known to influence some wars, such as the African campaigns during the medieval period. While there is no way to eliminate the disease yet, many medications exist and experimental vaccines are always in development.
22 – Dona Paz Ferry Disaster
The Dona Paz passenger ferry – Image author: lindsaybridge
Date: December 20th, 1987.
Location: Philippines.
Disaster Type: Collision.
Fatalities: 4300 deaths.
Resulting Damage: Passenger ferry and ship sunk.
This is the tragic story of a ferry that crashed into a ship carrying over eight thousand barrels of fuel and caused the deaths of more than four thousand people. They only had 1,568 passengers on the ship’s manifest, but they allowed for over-crowding because of the holiday season.
On December 20th, 1987, just five days before Christmas, hundreds of people boarded the Doña Paz ferry that would take them from the island of Leyte, to Manila, the capital of the Philippines. This ship was authorized to carry a load of not more than 1,518 passengers, but on the day of the tragic accident, the survivors claim that there could have possibly been more than four thousand people on board. There were people sitting on the floor all over the deck, so it was very obvious that the amount of people aboard was higher than it should have been. The weight on the Doña Paz was such that it even tilted the vessel to one side.
When night time arrived and everyone was getting ready to sleep and continue their 24 hour journey to Manila, a ship called the Vector was heading toward the Doña Paz. People who survived the explosion remember hearing a strong thunder-like sound that came from the collision. There were no alarms or warnings at all and the oil tanker spilled a lot of fuel and kerosene into the Doña Paz in a matter of seconds. The Vector had crashed right into the engine room of the Dona Paz, destroying the main switchboards of the ship. This caused the Doña Paz to lose all electrical power and everything turned pitch black, except for the huge fire that had started to spread from the damaged side of the ferry.
Most of the people who tried to jump into the ocean did not know that the ship had crashed into a fuel carrier. The spill of all this fuel turned the ocean into a fiery trap instead of a way to survival. Many died on board due to suffocation, while others died in the ocean as they burned and drowned. The few people that managed to survive had to swim underwater until they could find their way out of the fire.
The Phillippine Coast Guard investigation revealed that only one member of the crew on the Dona Paz had been watching from the bridge; the captain along with the other officers were drinking alcohol and watching television. However, the authorities blamed the accident on The Vector fuel tanker as it was being used without a license, a lookout or trained crewmen.
23 – Tenerife Airplane Collision
Dutch Monument in Westgaarde Cemetary, Amsterdam – Image author: Vanzanten
Date: March 27th, 1977.
Location: Los Rodeos Airport, Tenerife.
Disaster Type: Aircraft collision.
Fatalities: 583 deaths.
Resulting Damage: Two Boeing 747 planes lost.
On March the 27th, in 1977 the deadliest crash in aviation history took place on a foggy runway on the island of Tenerife. The collision involved two jumbo jets that collided on the runway and resulted in killing 583 people.
The crash was blamed on the pilot of the Dutch national airline KLM Boeing plane, who didn't check whether he was clear for takeoff down the fog engulfed runway. He had no clearance from Air Traffic Control but he thought he was cleared for takeoff due to a misunderstanding between his flight crew and ATC, so it was not deliberate, just human error. This resulted in the KLM Boeing clipping a Pan-Am plane which was taxiing across the runway.
The incident at Los Rodeos airport had an extra number of flights as there was pressure on the small airport’s resources, due to diversions of flights from Las Palmas due to a bomb exploding at Gran Canaria Airport.
The explosion from the collision echoed across the whole island and no-one survived on the Dutch Boeing, which was carrying 249 passengers. The Pan-Am jumbo jet was carrying 378 passengers together with a crew of 16 of which only 60 people survived.
Emergency services struggled handling such a tragic accident where there were so many casualties, as the airport was engulfed in thick black smoke.
The Spanish authorities blamed the KLM captain for the accident. However, The Netherlands Department of Civil Aviation said that they could not be blamed for a misunderstanding between the air traffic controller and the KLM crew.
After limitations on the use of radio for a means of communication were recognised, which allowed for human error to creep in, standardised phraseology in ATC communication between flight controllers and pilots was given more importance. A concept called 'Crew Resource Management' was also introduced, which involved flight crew members being encouraged to speak out if they thought the captain was making a bad decision. Likewise, pilots are now instructed to listen to their flight crew and evaluate their comments, even if they are less experienced.
The worst accident in history prior to this was the 1974 Turkish Airlines crash - flight 981 which happened near Paris and claimed 346 lives. This crash was caused by a cargo hatch blowing off, which in turn caused decompression and severed cables that left the pilots with no way to control the plane. The latching of the hatch was done by a Moroccan baggage-handler who could read neither English nor Turkish.
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