The worst disasters in human history

Humanity will never forget the accident on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform. An explosion and fire occurred on April 20, 2010, 80 kilometers off the coast of Louisiana, at the Macondo oilfield. The oil spill was the largest in US history and virtually destroyed the Gulf of Mexico. We remembered the largest man-made and environmental disasters in the world, some of which are almost worse than the Deepwater Horizon tragedy.

Could the accident have been avoided? Man-made disasters often occur as a consequence of natural disasters, but also because of worn-out equipment, greed, negligence, inattention... The memory of them serves as an important lesson for humanity, because natural disasters can harm people, but not the planet, but man-made ones pose a threat to absolutely the entire surrounding world.

15. Explosion at a fertilizer plant in the city of West - 15 victims

On April 17, 2013, an explosion occurred at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas. The explosion occurred at 19:50 local time and completely destroyed the plant, which belonged to the local company Adair Grain Inc. The explosion destroyed a school and a nursing home located near the plant. About 75 buildings in the city of West were seriously damaged. The explosion killed 15 people and injured about 200 people. Initially, there was a fire at the plant, and the explosion occurred while firefighters were trying to control the fire. At least 11 firefighters were killed.

Witnesses said the explosion was so strong that it was heard about 70 km from the plant, and the US Geological Survey recorded ground vibrations of magnitude 2.1. "It was like an explosion atomic bomb", said eyewitnesses. Residents of a number of areas near West were evacuated due to a leak of ammonia used in the production of fertilizers; authorities warned everyone about the leak of toxic substances. A no-fly zone was introduced over West at an altitude of up to 1 km. The city resembled a war zone. ..

In May 2013, a criminal case was opened into the explosion. The investigation found that the company stored the chemicals that caused the explosion in violation of safety requirements. The US Chemical Safety Board found that the company failed to necessary measures to prevent fire and explosion. In addition, at that time there were no rules that would prohibit the storage of ammonium nitrate near populated areas.

14. Flooding of Boston with molasses - 21 victims

The molasses flood in Boston occurred on January 15, 1919, after a giant molasses tank exploded in Boston's North End, sending a wave of sugar-containing liquid sweeping through the city's streets at high speed. 21 people died, about 150 were hospitalized. The disaster occurred at the Purity Distilling Company during Prohibition (fermented molasses was widely used to produce ethanol at the time). On the eve of the introduction of a complete ban, the owners tried to make as much rum as possible...

Apparently, due to metal fatigue in an overflowing tank with 8700 m³ of molasses, the sheets of metal connected by rivets came apart. The ground shook and a wave of molasses up to 2 meters high poured into the streets. The pressure of the wave was so great that it moved the freight train off the tracks. Nearby buildings were flooded to a height of one meter and some collapsed. People, horses, and dogs got stuck in the sticky wave and died from suffocation.

A Red Cross mobile hospital was deployed in the disaster zone, a US Navy unit entered the city - the rescue operation lasted a week. The molasses was removed using sand, which absorbed the viscous mass. Although the factory owners blamed the anarchists for the explosion, the townspeople extracted payments from them totaling $600,000 (approximately $8.5 million today). According to Bostonians, even now on hot days a cloying smell of caramel emanates from old houses...

13. Explosion at the Phillips chemical plant in 1989 - 23 victims

The explosion at the Phillips Petroleum Company chemical plant occurred on October 23, 1989, in Pasadena, Texas. Due to an oversight by employees, a large leak of flammable gas occurred, and a powerful explosion occurred, equivalent to two and a half tons of dynamite. A tank containing 20,000 gallons of isobutane gas exploded and the chain reaction caused 4 more explosions.
During scheduled maintenance, the air ducts on the valves were accidentally closed. Thus, the control room displayed that the valve was open, while it appeared to be closed. This led to the formation of a cloud of steam, which exploded at the slightest spark. The initial explosion registered a magnitude of 3.5 on the Richter scale and debris from the explosion was found within a 6 mile radius of the explosion.

Many of the fire hydrants failed, and the water pressure in the remaining hydrants dropped significantly. It took firefighters more than ten hours to bring the situation under control and completely extinguish the flames. 23 people were killed and another 314 were injured.

12. Fire at a pyrotechnics factory in Enschede in 2000 - 23 victims

On May 13, 2000, as a result of a fire at the S.F. pyrotechnics factory. Fireworks in the Dutch city of Enshede, an explosion occurred, killing 23 people, including four firefighters. The fire started in the central building and spread to two full containers of fireworks illegally stored outside the building. Several subsequent explosions occurred with the largest explosion felt as far away as 19 miles.

During the fire, a significant part of the Rombek district was burned and destroyed - 15 streets were burned, 1,500 houses were damaged, and 400 houses were destroyed. In addition to the deaths of 23 people, 947 people were injured and 1,250 people were left homeless. Fire crews arrived from Germany to help fight the fire.

When S.F. Fireworks built a pyrotechnics factory in 1977, it was located far from the city. As the city grew, new low-cost housing surrounded the warehouses, causing terrible destruction, injury and death. Most local residents had no idea that they lived in such close proximity to a pyrotechnics warehouse.

11. Explosion at a chemical plant in Flixborough - 64 victims

An explosion occurred in Flixborough, England on June 1, 1974, killing 28 people. The accident happened at the Nipro plant, which produced ammonium. The disaster caused a whopping £36 million in property damage. British industry had never known such a catastrophe. The chemical plant at Flixborough virtually ceased to exist.
A chemical plant near the village of Flixborough specialized in the production of caprolactam, the starting product for synthetic fiber.

The accident happened like this: the bypass pipeline connecting reactors 4 and 6 ruptured, and steam began to escape from the outlets. A cloud of cyclohexane vapor containing several tens of tons of substance was formed. The source of the cloud's ignition was probably a torch from a hydrogen installation. Due to the accident at the plant, an explosive mass of heated vapors was released into the air, the slightest spark was enough to ignite them. 45 minutes after the accident, when the mushroom cloud reached the hydrogen plant, a powerful explosion occurred. The explosion in its destructive force was equivalent to the explosion of 45 tons of TNT, detonated at a height of 45 m.

About 2,000 buildings outside the plant were damaged. In the village of Amcotts, located on the other side of the River Trent, 73 of the 77 houses were badly damaged. In Flixborough, located 1200 m from the center of the explosion, 72 of 79 houses were destroyed. The explosion and subsequent fire killed 64 people, 75 people inside and outside the enterprise received injuries of varying severity.

Plant engineers, under pressure from the owners of the Nipro company, often deviated from the established technological regulations and ignored safety requirements. The sad experience of this disaster showed that in chemical plants it is necessary to have fast-acting automatic system fire extinguishing system, allowing to eliminate fires of solid chemicals within 3 seconds.

10. Hot steel spill - 35 victims

On April 18, 2007, 32 people were killed and 6 injured when a ladle containing molten steel fell at the Qinghe Special Steel Corporation plant in China. Thirty tons of liquid steel, heated to 1500 degrees Celsius, fell from an overhead conveyor. Liquid steel burst through the doors and windows into the adjacent room where the workers on duty shift were located.

Perhaps the most horrific fact discovered during the study of this disaster is that it could have been prevented. The immediate cause of the accident was the unlawful use of substandard equipment. The investigation concluded that there were a number of deficiencies and safety violations that contributed to the accident.

When emergency services reached the scene of the disaster, they were stopped by the heat of molten steel and were unable to reach the victims for a long time. After the steel began to cool, they discovered 32 victims. Surprisingly, 6 people miraculously survived the accident and were taken to the hospital with severe burns.

9. Oil train crash in Lac-Mégantic - 47 victims

An explosion of an oil train occurred on the evening of July 6, 2013 in the town of Lac-Mégantic in Quebec, Canada. Train, company-owned The Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway, which was carrying 74 tank cars of crude oil, derailed. As a result, several tanks caught fire and exploded. 42 people are known to have died, and another 5 people are listed as missing. As a result of the fire that engulfed the city, approximately half of the buildings in the city center were destroyed.

In October 2012, epoxy materials were used during engine repairs on the GE C30-7 #5017 diesel locomotive to quickly complete the repairs. During subsequent operation, these materials deteriorated, and the locomotive began to smoke heavily. Leaking fuel and lubricants accumulated in the turbocharger housing, which led to a fire on the night of the crash.

The train was driven by driver Tom Harding. At 23:00 the train stopped at Nantes station, on the main track. Tom contacted the dispatcher and reported problems with the diesel engine, strong black exhaust; the solution to the problem with the diesel locomotive was postponed until the morning, and the driver went to spend the night at a hotel. A train with a running diesel locomotive and dangerous cargo was left overnight at an unmanned station. At 11:50 p.m., 911 received a report of a fire on the lead locomotive. The compressor did not work in it, and the pressure in the brake line decreased. At 00:56 the pressure dropped to such a level that the hand brakes could not hold the cars and the out of control train went downhill towards Lac-Mégantic. At 00:14, the train derailed at a speed of 105 km/h and ended up in the city center. The cars derailed, explosions followed and burning oil spilled along the railway.
People in a nearby cafe, feeling the tremors of the earth, decided that an earthquake had started and hid under tables, as a result they did not have time to escape from the fire... This train accident became one of the deadliest in Canada.

8. Accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station - at least 75 victims

The accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station is an industrial man-made disaster that occurred on August 17, 2009 - a “black day” for the Russian hydropower industry. As a result of the accident, 75 people died, the equipment and premises of the station were seriously damaged, and electricity production was suspended. The consequences of the accident affected the ecological situation of the water area adjacent to the hydroelectric power station, as well as the social and economic spheres of the region.

At the time of the accident, the hydroelectric power station carried a load of 4100 MW, out of 10 hydraulic units, 9 were in operation. At 8:13 local time on August 17, the destruction of hydraulic unit No. 2 occurred with significant volumes of water flowing through the hydraulic unit shaft under high pressure. Power plant personnel who were in the turbine room heard a loud bang and saw the release of a powerful column of water.
Streams of water quickly flooded the machine room and the rooms below it. All hydraulic units of the hydroelectric power station were flooded, while at the operating hydroelectric power stations there were short circuits(their flashes are clearly visible on the amateur video of the disaster), which disabled them.

The lack of obviousness of the causes of the accident (according to Russian Energy Minister Shmatko, “this is the largest and most incomprehensible hydropower accident that has ever happened in the world”) gave rise to a number of versions that were not confirmed (from terrorism to water hammer). The most likely cause of the accident is fatigue failure of the studs that occurred during the operation of hydraulic unit No. 2 with a temporary impeller and an unacceptable level of vibration in 1981-83.

7. Piper Alpha explosion - 167 victims

On July 6, 1988, an oil production platform in the North Sea called Piper Alpha was destroyed by an explosion. The Piper Alpha platform, installed in 1976, was the largest structure on the Piper site, owned by the Scottish company Occidental Petroleum. The platform was located 200 km north-east of Aberdeen and served as the control center for oil production at the site. The platform contained a helipad and a residential module for 200 oil workers working in shifts. On July 6, an unexpected explosion occurred on the Piper Alpha. The fire that engulfed the platform did not even give the staff the opportunity to send an SOS signal.

As a result of a gas leak and subsequent explosion, 167 people out of 226 on the platform at that moment were killed, only 59 survived. It took 3 weeks to extinguish the fire, with high winds (80 mph) and 70-foot waves. The final cause of the explosion could not be established. According to the most popular version, there was a gas leak on the platform, as a result of which a small spark was enough to start the fire. The Piper Alpha accident led to significant criticism and subsequent review of safety standards for oil production in the North Sea.

6. Fire in Tianjin Binhai - 170 victims

On the night of August 12, 2015, two explosions broke out at a container storage area in the port of Tianjin. At 22:50 local time, reports began to arrive about a fire at the warehouses of the Ruihai company located in the port of Tianjin, which transports hazardous chemicals. As investigators later found out, it was caused by spontaneous combustion of dried and heated summer sun nitrocellulose. Within 30 seconds of the first explosion, a second explosion occurred - a container containing ammonium nitrate. The local seismological service estimated the power of the first explosion at 3 tons of TNT equivalent, the second at 21 tons. Firefighters who arrived at the scene were unable to stop the spread of the fire for a long time. The fires raged for several days and 8 more explosions occurred. The explosions created a huge crater.

The explosions killed 173 people, injured 797, and left 8 people missing. . Thousands Toyota cars, Renault, Volkswagen, Kia and Hyundai were damaged. 7,533 containers, 12,428 vehicles and 304 buildings were destroyed or damaged. In addition to death and destruction, the damage amounted to $9 billion. It turned out that three apartment buildings were built within a one-kilometer radius of the chemical warehouse, which is prohibited by Chinese law. Authorities have charged 11 officials from the city of Tianjin in connection with the explosion. They are accused of negligence and abuse of power.

5. Val di Stave, dam failure - 268 victims

In northern Italy, above the village of Stave, the Val di Stave dam collapsed on July 19, 1985. The accident destroyed 8 bridges, 63 buildings, and killed 268 people. Following the disaster, an investigation found that there had been poor maintenance and little operational safety margins.

In the upper of the two dams, rainfall had caused the drainage pipe to become less effective and become clogged. Water continued to flow into the reservoir and the pressure in the damaged pipe increased, also causing pressure on the shore rock. The water began to penetrate the soil, liquefy into the mud and weaken the banks until finally erosion occurred. In just 30 seconds, water and mud flows from the upper dam broke through and poured into the lower dam.

4. The collapse of a waste heap in Namibia - 300 victims

By 1990, Nambia, a mining community in southeastern Ecuador, had a reputation for being an "environmentally hostile environment." The local mountains were pitted by miners, riddled with holes from mining, the air humid and filled with chemicals, toxic gases from the mine and a huge waste heap.

On May 9, 1993, most of the coal slag mountain at the end of the valley collapsed, killing about 300 people in a landslide. 10,000 people lived in the village in an area of ​​about 1 square mile. Most of the town's houses were built right at the entrance to the mine tunnel. Experts have long warned that the mountain has become almost hollow. They said that further coal mining would lead to landslides, and after several days of heavy rains the soil softened and the worst predictions came true.

3. Texas explosion - 581 victims

A man-made disaster occurred on April 16, 1947 in the port of Texas City, USA. A fire on board the French ship Grandcamp led to the detonation of about 2,100 tons of ammonium nitrate (ammonium nitrate), which led to a chain reaction in the form of fires and explosions on nearby ships and oil storage facilities.

The tragedy killed at least 581 people (including all but one of the Texas City Fire Department), injured more than 5,000, and sent 1,784 to hospitals. The port and a large part of the city were completely destroyed, many businesses were razed to the ground or burned down. More than 1,100 vehicles were damaged and 362 freight cars were mangled, with property damage estimated at $100 million. These events sparked the first class action lawsuit against the US government.

The court found the Federal Government guilty of criminal negligence committed by government agencies and their representatives involved in the production, packaging and labeling of ammonium nitrate, aggravated by gross errors in its transportation, storage, loading and fire safety measures. 1,394 compensations totaling approximately $17 million were paid.

2. Bhopal disaster - up to 160,000 victims

This is one of the worst man-made disasters that occurred in the Indian city of Bhopal. As a result of an accident at a chemical plant owned by the American chemical company Union Carbide, which produces pesticides, a toxic substance, methyl isocyanate, was released. It was stored at the factory in three partially buried tanks, each of which could hold about 60,000 liters of liquid.
The cause of the tragedy was the emergency release of methyl isocyanate vapor, which in the factory tank heated above the boiling point, which led to an increase in pressure and rupture of the emergency valve. As a result, on December 3, 1984, about 42 tons of toxic fumes were released into the atmosphere. A cloud of methyl isocyanate covered nearby slums and Train Station, located 2 km.

The Bhopal disaster is the largest in terms of the number of victims in modern history, causing the immediate death of at least 18 thousand people, of which 3 thousand died directly on the day of the accident, and 15 thousand in subsequent years. According to other sources, total The victims are estimated at 150-600 thousand people. The large number of victims is explained by the high population density, late informing residents about the accident, lack of medical personnel, as well as unfavorable weather conditions - a cloud of heavy vapors was carried by the wind.

Union Carbide, which was responsible for the tragedy, paid victims $470 million in an out-of-court settlement in 1987 in exchange for a waiver of claims. In 2010, an Indian court found seven former leaders The Indian branch of Union Carbide was found guilty of negligence resulting in death. Those convicted were sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of 100 thousand rupees (approximately $2,100).

1. Banqiao Dam tragedy - 171,000 dead

The designers of the dam cannot even be blamed for this disaster; it was designed for severe floods, but this was completely unprecedented. In August 1975, the Banqiao Dam burst during a typhoon in western China, killing about 171,000 people. The dam was built in the 1950s to generate electricity and prevent flooding. Engineers designed it with a safety margin of a thousand years.

But on those fateful days in early August 1975, Typhoon Nina immediately produced more than 40 inches of rain, exceeding the area's annual rainfall total in just one day. After several days even more heavy rains, the dam failed and was washed away on August 8.

The dam failure caused a wave 33 feet high, 7 miles wide, traveling at 30 mph. IN total more than 60 dams and additional reservoirs were destroyed due to the failure of the Banqiao Dam. The flood destroyed 5,960,000 buildings, killed 26,000 people immediately and another 145,000 died later as a result of famine and epidemics due to natural disaster.

There have always been disasters: environmental, man-made. A lot of them have happened over the past hundred years.

Major water disasters

People have been crossing seas and oceans for hundreds of years. During this time, many shipwrecks occurred.

For example, in 1915, a German submarine fired a torpedo and blew up a British passenger liner. This happened not far from the Irish coast. The ship sank to the bottom in a matter of minutes. About 1,200 people died.

In 1944, a disaster occurred right in the port of Bombay. While unloading the ship, a powerful explosion occurred. The cargo ship contained explosives, gold bullion, sulfur, timber and cotton. It was the burning cotton, scattered within a radius of one kilometer, that caused the fire of all the ships in the port, warehouses and even many city facilities. The city burned for two weeks. 1,300 people were killed and more than 2,000 were injured. The port returned to its operating mode only 7 months after the disaster.

The most famous and large-scale disaster on the water is the sinking of the famous Titanic. He went under water during his first voyage. The giant was unable to change course when an iceberg appeared right in front of him. The liner sank, and with it one and a half thousand people.

At the end of 1917, a collision occurred between the French and Norwegian ships - Mont Blanc and Imo. The French ship was fully loaded with explosives. The powerful explosion, along with the port, destroyed part of the city of Halifax. The consequences of this explosion human lives: 2000 dead and 9000 wounded. This explosion is considered the most powerful until the moment of appearance nuclear weapons.

In 1916, the Germans torpedoed a French ship. 3,130 people died. After the attack on the German hospital afloat General Steuben, 3,600 people lost their lives.

At the beginning of 1945 Submarine under the command of Marinesko, she fired a torpedo at the German liner Wilhelm Gustlow, which was carrying passengers. At least 9,000 people died.

The largest disasters in Russia

Several disasters occurred on the territory of our country, which in terms of their scale are considered the largest in the history of the state. These include an accident on the railway near Ufa. An accident occurred on the pipeline, which was located next to the railway track. As a result of the fuel mixture accumulated in the air, an explosion occurred at the moment when the passenger trains met. 654 people were killed and about 1,000 were injured.

The largest environmental disaster not only in the country, but throughout the world also occurred on Russian territory. We are talking about the Aral Sea, which has practically dried up. This was facilitated by many factors, including social and soil ones. Aral Sea disappeared in just half a century. In the 60s of the last century fresh waters tributaries of the Aral Sea were used in many areas in agriculture. By the way, the Aral Sea was considered one of the largest lakes in the world. Now its place is taken by land.

Another indelible mark on the history of the fatherland was left by the flood in 2012 in the city of Krymsk Krasnodar region. Then, in two days, as much precipitation fell as falls in 5 months. Due to the natural disaster, 179 people died and 34 thousand local residents were injured.

Major nuclear disaster

The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in April 1986 went down in history not only Soviet Union, but also the whole world. The station's power unit exploded. As a result, there was a powerful release of radiation into the atmosphere. To this day, a radius of 30 km from the epicenter of the explosion is considered an exclusion zone. There is still no accurate data on the consequences of this terrible disaster.

Also nuclear explosion occurred in 2011, when the nuclear reactor at Fukushima-1 failed. This happened due to a strong earthquake in Japan. A huge amount of radiation entered the atmosphere.

The largest disasters in the history of mankind

In 2010, an oil platform exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. After the stunning fire, the platform quickly sank, but oil spilled into the ocean for another 152 days. According to scientists, the area covered with an oil film amounted to 75 thousand square kilometers.

The worst global disaster in terms of death toll was the explosion of a chemical plant. This happened in the Indian city of Bhapola in 1984. 18 thousand people died a large number of people were exposed to radiation.

In 1666, a fire occurred in London, which is still considered the most powerful fire in history. The fire destroyed 70 thousand houses and claimed the lives of 80 thousand city residents. It took 4 days to put out the fire.

It is customary for us to use the name Chikatilo to scare people. Among bloodthirsty maniacs, Jack the Ripper, who was never found, also comes to mind. Meanwhile, history has many examples of how the cunning, resourcefulness of a criminal and the apathy of the authorities made it possible to commit dozens of murders. The acts of these bloodthirsty maniacs continue to shock even now. And they themselves, fortunately, are reliably isolated from society.

John Wayne Gacy Jr. (1942-1999). This maniac rampaged for only 6 years, but during this time he managed to rape and kill at least 33 young men. Gacy's involvement in the remaining murders remained unproven. After the gunman was arrested, police found 27 dead bodies in the basement of his Illinois home. The rest of his victims were found in the river a little later. Some of them were in obscene positions, with dildos or penises in their mouths. The maniac loved to earn extra money at children's parties, dressing up as a clown in a red wig. For this, Gacy was nicknamed “Pogo the Clown” and “Killer Clown.” The series of murders was based on a sexual motive. In 1980, the criminal was sentenced to death, but the sentence was carried out only 14 years later by lethal injection.

Theodore Robert Bundy (1946-1989). The criminal was executed in 1989 using the electric chair. But memories of his brutal activities, which began back in 1974, still terrify. When the maniac was caught, he confessed to more than thirty murders. But the investigation suggested that the number of victims could be more than a hundred. At the same time, the maniac not only cold-bloodedly and quickly killed his victims - he liked to first strangle people doomed to death. Bundy also raped the people he captured, and he did not know any prohibitions in his sexual activity. His sexual contacts were made not only with living people, but also with those already dead.

Sergei Tkach (born 1952). This case turned out to be quite difficult for investigators. After all, Tkach once served in the internal affairs bodies. From 1980 to 2005, he raped and then killed 29 girls and young women. Several rape victims are lucky to be alive. The maniac himself claims that he took the lives of 80 to 100 people. For the crimes he committed, they were convicted and served prison term several people. In 2008, Tkach was sentenced to life imprisonment. In his own aggression towards female the maniac blames his ex-wives for turning him into a monster. The killer's extraordinary cunning helped him remain unpunished for a long time. For example, he carefully hid his tracks, and left the crime scene along the sleepers so that the dogs could not pick up his trail.

Donald Harvey (b. 1952). Harvey is currently serving his life sentence in the North Idaho Colony. And before going to prison, he worked in a hospital. The maniac nicknamed himself “Angel of Death.” After all, over twenty years of work in medicine, he helped 87 of his patients die. So he claims, and the investigation attributes 36 to 57 murders to Harvey. The orderly killed people using cyanide, insulin and arsenic. As a result, the victims died long and painfully. At the same time, the killer did not limit himself in the ways of committing violence. He strangled some of his victims, and sometimes even pierced their insides with the sharp end of a hanger, infected them with hepatitis and turned off life-sustaining machines.

Moses Sithole (born 1964). This maniac received the nickname “South African Strangler” for his bloody activities. He was sentenced to a total of 2,410 years in prison. In his secluded hideout, Sithole was able to torture and kill 38 people. The criminal also committed 40 rapes. It is clear that the killer will not be able to serve the entire term in prison. And he won’t live to see old age. After all, he was diagnosed with AIDS in 2000, which will significantly shorten his life span. The short interval between his crimes brought the maniac notoriety. He accomplished all of them in just a year. In 1994, Sithole was released from prison and was imprisoned there again in 1995. This time it's forever.

Bell Sorenson Gunness (1859-1908). It's not just men who become maniacs. This woman operated for several decades, during which time about 40 people became her victims. Born Brynhild, she became a real symbol of female madness and cruelty. She herself did not spend a single day at work, and received money for her living from insurance companies. They compensated her for the death of her loved ones, not suspecting who skillfully killed them. Bell herself was a very impressive lady, weighing 91 kilograms and 173 centimeters tall. She calmly started her business with her husband and children, then potential suitors began to fall into her clutches. In those days, such body shapes were considered quite attractive by men, as evidenced by the number of victims of the cold-blooded killer. Bell herself received the nickname "Black Widow". But her death is shrouded in mystery. One day she simply disappeared, and the police discovered her headless corpse some time later. It is still unclear whether it was the criminal herself or whether she faked her death. After all, at the time of the examination, the DNA material was not enough to confirm the death of the bloody killer.

Ahmad Suraji (1951-2008). This Iranian herder has confessed to killing 42 women. They were all of different ages, and the bloody chain stretched for 11 years. The maniac first tracked down his victims and then energetically killed them. At the same time, he used his own cruel ritual. Suraji buried the women up to their necks in the ground and then strangled them with a piece of cable. The killer was assisted in his actions by three wives, who were also convicted. Ahmad himself said that he was pushed to commit such atrocities prophetic dream. In it, his father appeared to him, who predicted the glory of a healer if a man kills 70 women and tastes their saliva. The son was unable to doubt these words and more than half accomplished his plan. In 2008, the authorities shot the criminal.

Alexander Pichushkin (born 1974). After the trial, the media dubbed the maniac “The Chessboard Killer.” The fact is that the maniac intended to kill exactly 64 people, according to the number of squares on the chessboard. After each victim, one of its cells was closed. According to the killer, he almost accomplished his plan, taking the lives of 61 people. At the trial, Pichushkin’s involvement in 48 murders was proven, which was enough to sentence the maniac to life imprisonment. He committed his first murder at the age of 18; the victim was Alexander’s classmate. The maniac’s psyche finally took shape after the trial of Chikatilo, Pichushkin realized that he wanted to be like him and even surpass him in the number of victims. The killer launched his activities on the territory of the Bitsevsky forest park. He lured homeless people and alcoholics into the area, promising them free drinks, and then smashed their heads in with a bat. Soon the maniac began to hunt his acquaintances, since it was especially pleasant for him to kill them.

Gary Leon Ridgway (b. 1949). This maniac nicknamed " River man“claims that he was able to kill more than 90 women in Washington state over 16 years. As a result, the court was able to prove 48 murders, and the criminal confessed to committing them. The methods he used were truly cruel. First of all, he satisfied his sexual passion and tortured the victims, then he strangled them with ropes, cable or fishing line. He even used necrophilia. If the maniac did not have time to take possession of the victim during the life of the victim, then he would have sexual contact with the corpse. In 2003, Ridgway fully confessed to his crimes, and his death penalty was commuted to life imprisonment.

Anatoly Onoprienko (born 1959). The maniac nicknamed “Terminator” admitted that during the six years of his hunt for people he killed 52 people. Onoprienko calculated that the points of his acts on the map of Ukraine should form a cross. According to the maniac, all his actions are controlled by certain voices heard in his head. When Onoprienko was arrested, they found on him a gun that was involved in his early murders, and personal belongings of the killed people. He himself attacked people on highways and in remote houses. The court sentenced the maniac to death in 1999, but it was soon commuted to life imprisonment.

Andrei Chikatilo (1936-1994). This maniac is also of Ukrainian origin. For his actions, he received the nicknames "Red Ripper", "Rostov Butcher" and "Rostov Ripper". The killer operated from 1978 to 1990, during which time he killed 52 people. Most often the victims were women and children. Chikatilo tried to rape them, but this was not always successful. But he received sexual pleasure from watching the suffering of dying people. The maniac brought death to his victims by trying to have sexual intercourse with them. In 1994, the killer got what he deserved - a death penalty ended his life with a shot in the back of the head.

Pedro Alonso Lopez (born 1948). This Colombian killer still continues to scare people because he has remained uncaught. His whole life is a complete drama. Lopez himself was a victim of molestation, had sex with his sister, and visited a pedophile's den. When the boy grew up, he himself began to beat, rape and molest, as if in revenge on life. As a teenager, Lopez became a killer, his first victim being his owner. The killer also flayed him, as well as his other three clients. As a result, the number of victims of the maniac exceeded all known cases. He was nicknamed the "Monster of the Andes." During interrogation, Lopez indicated the burial places of 110 of his victims, claiming that he had killed more than 300 people in total. But in Ecuador, where the trial took place, there is no death penalty. As a result, Lopez served 16 years in prison, being released in 1999. His current whereabouts are unknown. Lopez even got into the Guinness Book of Records as the most bloody maniac in the world.

Yang Xinhai (1968-2004). This Chinese maniac was able to kill 67 people over the 4 years of his activity. Criminal life Xinhai started out as a petty thief, but soon moved from theft to violence and murder. The maniac often entered residential buildings and massacred entire families. His weapons included a saw and an axe. Yang killed children and raped pregnant women, and because of his inhumanity, the Chinese gave him the nickname “Monster Killer.” He traveled around the country by bicycle. When Xinhai was arrested, he said that killing gave him pleasure. According to a court verdict, the maniac was shot in 2004.

Pedro Rodriguez Filho (born 1954). This maniac is called "Little Pedro the Killer." After all, he killed more than a hundred people in his life. Most of them were in prison with Filho, being prisoners like himself. In 2003, the killer went to jail after confessing to killing 70 people. Among them was the father of the maniac. The court sentenced Filho to a total of 128 years in prison, but Brazilian laws will not allow a maniac to be behind bars for more than 30 years.

Elizabeth Bathory (1560-1614). This woman went down in history as the “Bloody Duchess.” The Duchess operated with her four assistants. The court found her guilty of murdering 600 women. Moreover, most of them were virgins. Bloodlust appeared in Bathory after her husband died from battle wounds. The Duchess was personally found guilty of murdering 80 women, but was never officially brought to trial. The noble family decided not to bring the matter to public hearings, simply imprisoning Elizabeth in the dungeon of her own castle. Four years after the hearings, the Duchess died. But it was not possible to hush up the matter; the fame of the bloody tormentor spread throughout Europe. She began to be counted among the successors of the work of Count Dracula. Many legends about Bathory immediately appeared. So, they said that she loved to bathe in a bath filled with the blood of virgins. The Duchess believed that this would help her rejuvenate. As a result, Bathory went down in human history as the most brutal female killer.

Javed Iqbal (1956-2001). This maniac chose to commit suicide. In 2001, his body was autopsied in a Pakistani prison, and his body showed signs of numerous brutal beatings. At one time, the court found Iqbal guilty of raping and murdering more than a hundred children. But the matter is far from over. After all, after the death of the maniac, it turned out that many of the victims attributed to him were alive. Iqbal himself confessed to killing hundreds of children. The criminal said that he first strangled them and then cut the corpses into pieces, destroying evidence in acid. At the crime scene indicated to the investigation by the maniac, the remains of bodies, their photographs and belongings were found. Given the method used by the killer, it is impossible to accurately determine the number of his victims.

Tag Behram (1765-1840). It is believed that this maniac killed a thousand people. He operated in India from 1790 to 1840. Behram was the leader of the brutal Tagi Kult gang. This bloody community attacked weary travelers and strangled them with a special, ritual piece of cloth. The bandits believed that only after performing such a deadly ritual would it be possible to rob the dead.

Louis Alfredo Garavito Cubillos (born 1957). The maniac received a very eloquent nickname - “The Beast”. He is now serving time in Colombia, the court sentenced him to 22 years in prison. In 1999, the criminal admitted that he had committed 140 rapes and then murders of boys. And according to rumors, the actual number of victims was twice as high. But Cubillos cooperated with the investigation and indicated the location of the remains of his victims, and also provided evidence of his crimes. That is why the maximum term under local laws of 30 years was reduced by 8. But the country recently adopted changes in criminal law, which makes it possible to increase the duration of a maniac’s imprisonment. I must say that there are all the prerequisites for this. After all, the police believe that Cubillos committed many more murders than was previously proven.

Gilles de Rais (1404-1440). This nobleman, marshal and alchemist also went down in history as an ally of Joan of Arc. It is believed that it was he who served as the prototype for fairy tale character"Blue Beard". The judges accused Gilles of killing two hundred children, whom he allegedly sacrificed to the devil. De Rais was excommunicated, hanged, and his body burned. It should be noted that historians have doubts that it was de Rais who committed the alleged murders. After all, he refused the charges until the very end, confessing only under the threat of torture.

Harold Frederick "Fred" Shipman (1946-2004). This criminal had the most long list of proven murders. He is rightfully considered the bloodiest serial killer in history. The court proved 218 murders he committed, but the exact number could be much higher. Shipman was once an ordinary family doctor, respected in the area. But later he turned into "Doctor Death". The killer gave his patients lethal injections of heroin, most of the victims were women. Although Shipman was sentenced to life imprisonment, he decided not to wait for his natural death. The killer spent only 6 years in the cell, after which he hanged himself. After the high-profile case, significant amendments were made to the legislation of England in the field of medicine and health protection.

Today, the world's attention is drawn to Chile, where a large-scale eruption of the Calbuco volcano began. It's time to remember 7 biggest natural disasters recent years, in order to know what may await us in the future. Nature is attacking people, just as people used to attack nature.

Eruption of Calbuco volcano. Chile

Earthquake in Haiti

Tsunami in the Pacific Ocean

Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption

Paradoxically, not a single person died during this eruption. But this natural disaster seriously disrupted business life all over the world, primarily in Europe. After all, a huge amount of volcanic ash thrown into the sky from the mouth of Eyjafjallajökull completely paralyzed air traffic in the Old World. The natural disaster destabilized the lives of millions of people in Europe itself, as well as in North America.

Earthquake in China's Sichuan province

Hurricane Katrina

On March 11, 2011, tremors with a magnitude of 9-9.1 occurred in the Pacific Ocean east of the island of Honshu, which led to the appearance of a huge tsunami wave up to 7 meters high. It hit Japan, washing away many coastal objects and going tens of kilometers inland.

More than four years have passed since this accident, but the operation at the nuclear power plant is still ongoing. And the nearest settlements were resettled forever. This is how Japan got its own.

A large-scale natural disaster is one of the options for the death of our Civilization. We have collected.

It is terrible to realize how much evil man has done to himself and the planet on which he lives. Most of the harm was caused by large industrial corporations that do not think about the level of danger of their activities in an effort to make a profit. What’s especially scary is that disasters also occurred as a result of testing various types of weapons, including nuclear ones. We offer 15 of the world's biggest human-caused disasters.

15. Castle Bravo (March 1, 1954)

The United States test-detonated a nuclear weapon in Bikini Atoll, near the Marshall Islands, in March 1954. It was a thousand times more powerful than the explosion in Hiroshima, Japan. This was part of a US government experiment. The damage caused by the explosion was catastrophic for the environment over an area of ​​11265.41 km2. 655 fauna representatives were destroyed.

14. Disaster in Seveso (July 10, 1976)

An industrial disaster near Milan, Italy resulted from a release in environment toxic chemicals. During the production cycle of trichlorophenol, a dangerous cloud of harmful compounds was released into the atmosphere. The release instantly had a detrimental effect on the flora and fauna of the area adjacent to the plant. The company hid the fact of a chemical leak for 10 days. The incidence of cancer increased, which was later confirmed by studies of dead animals. Residents of the small town of Seveso began to experience frequent cases of heart pathologies and respiratory diseases.

The meltdown of part of a nuclear reactor on Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania, USA, released an unknown amount of radioactive gases and iodine into the environment. The accident occurred due to a series of personnel errors and mechanical problems. There was a lot of debate about the scale of pollution, but official bodies withheld specific figures so as not to cause panic. They argued that the release was insignificant and could not harm flora and fauna. However, in 1997, the data was re-examined and it was concluded that those who lived near the reactor were 10 times more likely to develop cancer and leukemia than others.

12. Exxon Valdez oil spill (March 24, 1989)

As a result of the accident on the Exxon Valdez tanker, a huge amount of oil entered the ocean in the Alaska region, which led to the pollution of 2092.15 km of coastline. As a result, irreparable damage was caused to the ecosystem. And to date it has not been restored. In 2010, the US government stated that 32 species had been harmed. wildlife and only 13 species were restored. They were unable to restore the subspecies of killer whales and Pacific herring.

The explosion and flooding of the Deepwater Horizon oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico at the Macondo field resulted in a leak of 4.9 million barrels of oil and gas. According to scientists, this accident was the largest in US history and claimed 11 lives of platform workers. The ocean inhabitants were also harmed. Violations of the bay's ecosystem are still observed.

10. Disaster Love Channel (1978)

In Niagara Falls, New York, there are about a hundred houses and local school were built on the site of a dump of industrial and chemical waste. Over time, the chemicals seeped into the topsoil and water. People began to notice that some black swampy spots were appearing near their houses. When the analysis was done, they found the content of eighty-two chemical compounds, eleven of which were carcinogenic substances. Among the diseases of the Love Canal residents, such serious diseases as leukemia began to appear, and 98 families had children with serious pathologies.

9. Chemical Contamination of Anniston, Alabama (1929-1971)

In Anniston, in the area where agricultural and biotech giant Monsanto first produced cancer-causing substances, they were inexplicably released into Snow Creek. The population of Anniston suffered greatly. As a result of exposure, the percentage of diabetes and other pathologies increased. In 2002, Monsanto paid $700 million in compensation for damage and rescue efforts.

During the military conflict in Persian Gulf In Kuwait, Saddam Hussein set fire to 600 oil wells to create a toxic smokescreen for as long as 10 months. It is believed that between 600 and 800 tons of oil were burned daily. About five percent of Kuwait's territory was covered in soot, livestock was dying from lung diseases, and the number of cancer cases in the country increased.

7. Explosion at the Jilin Chemical Plant (November 13, 2005)

Several powerful explosions occurred at the Zilin Chemical Plant. A huge amount of benzene and nitrobenzene, which has a detrimental toxic effect, was released into the environment. The disaster resulted in the death of six people and the injury of seventy.

6. Times Beach, Missouri Pollution (December 1982)

The spraying of oil containing toxic dioxin led to complete destruction small town in Missouri. The method was used as an alternative to irrigation to remove dust from roads. Things got worse when the city was flooded by the Meremek River, causing toxic oil to spread along the entire coastline. Residents were exposed to dioxin and reported immune and muscle problems.

For five days, smoke from coal burning and factory emissions blanketed London. dense layer. The fact is that cold weather set in and residents started burning coal stoves en masse to warm their houses. The combination of industrial and public emissions into the atmosphere resulted in thick fog and poor visibility, and 12,000 people died from inhaling toxic fumes.

4. Minamata Bay Poisoning, Japan (1950s)

Over 37 years of producing plastics, the petrochemical company Chisso Corporation dumped 27 tons of metal mercury into the waters of Minamata Bay. Because residents used it for fishing without knowing about the release of chemicals, the mercury-poisoned fish caused serious damage to the health of babies born to mothers who ate Minamata fish and killed more than 900 people in the region.

3. Bhopal Disaster (December 2, 1984)

The whole world knows about radiation contamination as a result of a nuclear reactor accident and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. It has been called the worst nuclear power plant disaster in history. About a million people died due to the consequences of the nuclear disaster, mainly from cancer and due to exposure to high levels of radiation.

After the magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan, nuclear installation Fukushima Daiichi was left without power supply and lost the ability to cool nuclear reactors. This led to radioactive contamination of a large area and water area. About two hundred thousand residents were evacuated due to fears of serious illnesses as a result of exposure. The disaster once again forced scientists to think about the danger atomic energy and the need to develop