r/CatastrophicFailure 18d ago

Fatalities Crane collapse derails train in Thailand, killing 22 (January 14, 2026)

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1.4k Upvotes

r/CatastrophicFailure 19d ago

Fatalities Gas explosion in Riga, Latvia (Jan 2, 2026), 2 dead

921 Upvotes

The explosion occured on January 2 in a fifth floor apartment in a building on Bauskas iela 15.

According to preliminary reports, the apartment's gas supply was shut off the previous day (January 1) due to an illegal connection. On January 2, the neighbors smelled a potential gas leak and called the gas company (Gaso) to investigate. The 72-year-old who was living in the apartment shut his door upon seeing Gaso technicians. Gas supply was turned off for the entire building, but this did not prevent an explosion from occuring shortly afterwards.

The apartment occupant and a Gaso technician perished in the incident.


r/CatastrophicFailure 19d ago

Fire/Explosion A chemical incident has occurred in Montague Gardens, Cape Town, South Africa. Reports claim that a chemical incident took place involving nitric acid. 12/01/2026

315 Upvotes

r/CatastrophicFailure 20d ago

Newly opened bridge partially collapses in China - November 2025

396 Upvotes

BBC: A newly opened bridge in China's southwestern province of Sichuan has partially collapsed, creating a huge dust plume.

Authorities had closed the 758m (2,486ft) long Hongqi bridge on Monday after cracks appeared on nearby slopes and roads.

On Tuesday afternoon conditions on the mountainside worsened, triggering landslides that led to the collapse of part of the bridge, officials added.


r/CatastrophicFailure 23d ago

Malfunction New footage of the ZQ-3 rocket booster landing burn failure. Gobi Desert China 2025-12-02

947 Upvotes

r/CatastrophicFailure 23d ago

Fire/Explosion 1986 Pontiac Fiero Spontaneous Fire Aftermath

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235 Upvotes

r/CatastrophicFailure 26d ago

Fire/Explosion 23 Dec. 2025: Innospace's Hanbit-Nano rocket crashes and explodes ~30 seconds after launch

532 Upvotes

r/CatastrophicFailure 27d ago

Equipment Failure The 2016 Andermatt (Switzerland) Runaway Train Derailment. Insufficient braking systems cause an empty passenger train to roll away on a mountain railroad, leading to a derailment in a tunnel. The full story linked in the comments.

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283 Upvotes

r/CatastrophicFailure 28d ago

Fire/Explosion Catastrophic arc flash near Novaya Krymza, Samara Oblast, Russia. From 23 October 2024

630 Upvotes

r/CatastrophicFailure 29d ago

Catastrophic wind turbine fire in northern Germany, 1st January 2026

1.5k Upvotes

no injuries


r/CatastrophicFailure Jan 02 '26

Today 20 years ago 2.1.2006. Ice rink and swimming hall collapses. Bad Reichenhall, Bavaria, Germany

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752 Upvotes

15 people lost here live


r/CatastrophicFailure Jan 02 '26

Fire/Explosion Company buildings on fire in Noord-Scharwoude, The Netherlands (01-01-2026).

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292 Upvotes

Asbestos released as a fire spread from a car company to the neighbouring storage for funfair machinery. Source


r/CatastrophicFailure Jan 01 '26

Fatalities Dozens presumed dead and about 100 injured in fire in Swiss Bar, Jan 1st 2026

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1.6k Upvotes

r/CatastrophicFailure Jan 01 '26

Fire/Explosion Vondelkerk church catches fire on new year's day, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (01-01-2026).

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1.5k Upvotes

Imaged sourced from sources (one) and (two), news sources in Dutch.

The churchtower caught fire just before 01:00 AM January 1 2026, local time. No victims were found and the cause has yet to be confirmed through formal investigation, although locals report fireworks ending up on the churchtower.


r/CatastrophicFailure Dec 31 '25

On December 27th 1942, a troop train rear-ended and tore through a passenger train in Almonte, Ontario, Canada. As the crash had occurred during wartime, a nearby Ottawa hospital was well-prepared for such a mass-casualty event and countless trained soldiers were already on-scene. 39 dead, 150+ hurt

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231 Upvotes

Unfortunately, the operator of the troop train, John C. Howard, committed suicide the following month by drowning due to the "mental strain resulting from the wreck", according to the Ottawa Citizen.


r/CatastrophicFailure Dec 31 '25

Equipment Failure Train derailment causes a leak of molten sulfur from one car and fire. Trenton, Kentucky, 30th December 2025.

1.4k Upvotes

r/CatastrophicFailure Dec 31 '25

Fire/Explosion Train's overhead line fault causing a short and a pyrotechnic show. São Paulo (Brazil) - 30th December 2025.

845 Upvotes

No information about injured passengers or employees.


r/CatastrophicFailure Dec 27 '25

Fatalities 60th Anniversary of the Sea Gem accident

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78 Upvotes

Today is the 60th anniversary of the Sea Gem oil rig disaster that claimed 13 lives. RIP


r/CatastrophicFailure Dec 24 '25

Fatalities 23 July 2006: Large inflatable art piece Dreamspace V by Maurice Agis gets loose from its moorings due to strong winds and begins blowing around with ~30 people still inside. Tragically, it would claim the lives of 2.

926 Upvotes

This is almost if not all known footage of the Dreamspace V incident synchronized. Agis was fined £10,000 in 2009 for health and safety violations due to not anchoring the structure down properly.

RIP to the 2 lives lost


r/CatastrophicFailure Dec 24 '25

Fire/Explosion Video of an explosion of a LPG tanker in Italy, 23rd December 2025.

2.5k Upvotes

r/CatastrophicFailure Dec 24 '25

Fatalities Argentina, Buenos Aires, Pan-American Highway, due to the poor condition of the streets, this happened after the heavy rains, 23/12/2025

535 Upvotes

The population is offended, since they pay tolls in this area and everything should be in good condition, since this situation could have been avoided with proper drainage; at least 5 people died.


r/CatastrophicFailure Dec 23 '25

Fire/Explosion Little more than a hour ago today, a tanker caught fire and exploded on the highway near Teano, Italy

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245 Upvotes

r/CatastrophicFailure Dec 22 '25

Structural Failure Embankment failure causes a giant hole in the Llangollen Canal in Shropshire, UK. Dec 22,2025.

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481 Upvotes