Thanks to safety precautions, modern transportation is usually extremely safe. Throughout our history, however, planes, trains, and ships were much more dangerous than they are now and people tragically paid for it with their lives.
Take a look at the 30 most deadly travel accidents that have occurred throughout our history…
MV Le Joola
The Senegalese ferry capsized after it was loaded to overcapacity and encountered a storm. At least 1,863 people died.
Al Ayyat Train Disaster
Between 383 and 1,000 people died on February 20, 2002, when a gas cylinder exploded on the Egyptian train.
Korean Airlines Flight 007
269 people were killed on the Korean Airlines flight in 1983 after it was shot down by a Soviet pilot after accidentally crossing into Soviet airspace.
Awash Rail Disaster
On January 14, 1985, an express train in Ethiopia derailed and plunged off a curved bridge into a ravine. 428 people were killed.
USS Indianapolis
The ship was torpedoed on July 30, 1945, by a Japanese submarine. Only 317 out of 1,196 sailors survived.
Torre del Bierzo Rail Disaster
Between 200 to more than 500 people died in Spain on January 3, 1944, when an out of control mail train slammed into another train. The impact then forced the train to hit a loaded coal train coming from the opposite direction.
American Airlines Flight 191
In 1979, 273 people were killed when an engine broke off the plane during takeoff. A large section of the left wing was torn off the plane and the engine fell back onto the runway.
Iran Air Flight 655
In 1988, 290 civilians were killed when the Iranian Airbus was mistakenly shot down by missiles from a US military helicopter while flying over the Persian Gulf.
MV Goya
At least 6,000 people were killed in seven minutes when the German transport ship was hit by a Soviet submarine.
1996 Air Africa Crash
In 1996, the illegally flown cargo aircraft failed to take off. It crashed into a nearby marketplace in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Two people on board the plane died and between 225 and 348 people were killed on the ground.
Saudia Flight 163
In 1980, 301 people died from smoke inhalation after a fire broke out on the plane. It made an immediate emergency landing, but passengers were not evacuated right away.
Balvano Train Disaster
On March 2, 1944, an overloaded Italian train stalled in a tunnel and about 521 to over 600 people died from carbon monoxide fumes from the burning of low-quality coal.
RMS Empress of Ireland
The Canadian ocean liner sank after colliding with a Norwegian collier on May 29, 1914. Only 465 people survived while 1,012 people were killed.
Iran Ilyushin Il-76 Crash
In 2013, 302 people were mysteriously killed when the plane crashed near Kerman, Iran. No official cause has been determined and almost no information has been provided about the accident.
Ciurea Rail Disaster
Between 600 to 1,000 people were killed on a train in Romania in 1917 when a passenger train derailed while fleeing the Germans after suffering brake failure.
SS Mont-Blanc
The French freighter carrying ammunition exploded on December 6, 1917, after colliding with the Norwegian SS Imo. 2000 people in and around Halifax, Canada, were killed.
Ufa Train Disaster
On June 4, 1989, sparks from two passing trains in Russia ignited a cloud of propane gas that formed from a leak in the LPG pipeline. Nearly 600 people were killed.
Turkish Airlines Flight 981
In 1974, 346 people were killed when the crowded Turkish Airlines flight crashed because of a faulty locking mechanism in the cargo hatch.
RMS Lancastria
Over 4,000 people lost their lives when the British ocean liner was commandeered and sunk on June 17, 1940.
Guadalajara Train Disaster
The Mexican train lost control and plummeted into a deep ravine on January 22, 1915, after being loaded beyond capacity. More than 600 people were killed.
Saint Michel-de-Maurienne Derailment
On December 12, 1917, Almost 1,000 French soldiers were killed when a fire broke out when the brakes overheated on two trains that had been coupled together.
Charkhi Dadri Collision
In 1996, 349 people were killed in India when Kazakhstan Airlines military plane was descending and crashed into a Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747.
RMS Lusitania
1,198 people were killed after the British ocean liner was hit by a German torpedo on May 7, 1915.
Bihar Train Disaster
On June 6, 1981, between 500 and 800 people were killed in India when a train derailed into the Bagmati River.
RMS Titanic
On April 15, 1912, 1,514 people were killed when the passenger liner hit an iceberg.
Japan Airlines Flight 123
In 1985, 520 people were killed when pilots lost control of Japan Airlines Flight 123. Only four people survived after the plane crashed into a mountain.
MV Doña Paz
The ferry sank after accidentally colliding with the MT Vector in 1987. Around 4,375 people died.
Sri Lanka Tsunami Rail Disaster
Over 1,700 people were killed on the “Queen of the Sea” train in Sri Lanka after it was hit by a giant tsunami on December 26, 2004. The train had been traveling just 217 yards from shore.
Tenerife Disaster
In 1977, 583 people were killed when KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736 collided on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport in the Canary Islands because of overcrowding on the small runway, low visibility from fog, and poor communication between the two planes and air traffic control.
MV Wilhelm Gustloff
An estimated 9,400 people died in January of 1945 when the German ship was hit by three torpedoes and sank.
