The biggest railway accidents: a Tsunami

The largest railway accident in the world occurred in 2004 in Sri Lanka. It was caused by a natural disaster. A tsunami. The train in cause was named Queen of the Sea. What made the situation so tragic was that the train was extremly overcrowded. Travelling with 1500 paying passengers.

The train crew received no warning from the dispatch center that a Tsunami had occurred on the Island. The train survived the first wave of the tsunami. However, the second wave swept it away.

An estimated 2,500 people died in the accident – there were also about 1000 nonpaying passengers at the train in the time of the accident. This event is considered the greatest railway disaster of all time, despite the fact that it occurred as a result of a natural disaster  a Tsunami.