Concorde, the airliner that makes supersonic travel a reality. Sleek and graceful, flying twice the speed of sound, a symbol of prestige with a perfect safety record. But 113 people will perish in just 120 seconds. Seconds from Disaster s1e1: Crash of the Concorde, National Geographic 2004
Paris, France, July 25 2000, Flight AF50, supersonic to New York: Concorde accelerates down the 4,000-metre runway … Caught on camera by the wife of a truck driver … of Concorde on fire. ibid.
The plane stalls and plunges to the ground. It’s 4:45 p.m. ibid.
113 die: 4 from the hotel and 109 passengers and crew from Concorde. Rescuers begin the gruesome task of pulling the bodies from the crash site. ibid.
A sudden loss of power in both engines under the left wing … There’s not enough tarmac to stop safely … The engines become the new focus of the investigation. ibid.
Investigators found several fragments of tyre on the runway; one of them weighs four and a half kilograms. Tests quickly confirm they belong to Concorde. It’s a significant lead. ibid.
The tyre burst during taxiing … This 43-centimetre mystery strip of metal. When you match the 43-centimetre strip of metal to the damage on Concorde’s tyre, it’s a perfect fit. Suddenly, the whole Inquiry depends on the source of this metal. ibid.
The metal strip comes from the engine mountain of a DC-10 … a Continental Airlines DC10 took off five minutes before Concorde. ibid.
Europe, France, Mont Blanc, March 24th 1999, 10:30 a.m.: The world’s deepest tunnel cut through solid rock lies 2478 metres beneath Mont Blanc, Europe’s highest mountain. It’s a vital road link between France and Italy … More than 5,000 vehicles use the tunnel every day, including tourists, locals and lorries. Seconds from Disaster s1e2: Tunnel Inferno
The first signs of trouble: white smoke is escaping from behind his cab … Suddenly, it explodes … producing more and more thick black smoke … It’s a living nightmare. Most of those trapped are unconscious within minutes. ibid.
Such is the ferocity of the fire that it burns for 53 hours. Only then can firefighter pick their way through the charred debris. They’re horrified to discover the remains of the 38 trapped people. ibid.
An ordinary government building: nine floors of glass and steel reinforced concrete, build to code, built to last. The one morning a crude bomb causes destruction on an unimaginable scale. In nine seconds the building disintegrates. 168 people will die as a result of the explosion. Seconds from Disaster s1e3: The Bomb in Oklahoma City
Even the date he has chosen deliberately. Exactly two years before in Waco, Texas, federal agents storm a militia compound … He blames the US government for their deaths and vows revenge. His name is Timothy McVeigh. ibid.
A motel owner recognises the identikit picture as a man who recently stayed there driving a Ryder truck. ibid.
M/S Scandinavian Star is an ocean-going ferry. For 19 years she carries thousands of passengers and vehicles across the seas. Until a routine crossing turns deadly for 482 people in just 45 minutes. Seconds from Disaster s1e4: Fire on the Star
Fire alarms go off on the bridge to warn the captain … He sounds the ship’s general alarm to alert everyone on board. ibid.
The fire is completely out of control … The final victim count at the rear of Deck 5 is 76 … A pile of bedding on Deck 3 ignited … Something is fuelling the fire as it races through the ship … The wall lining is in fact extremely flammable. ibid.
1998: The German Intercity Express is one of the fastest trains in the world renowned for its comfort, luxury and safety. Until it veers off the track and crashes at 125 mph. 101 people perish in the 3 minutes in the world’s worst high-speed train crash. Seconds from Disaster s1e5: Derailment at Eschede
A huge shard of metal sticking through the floor of Coach 1 … At 125 mph ICE 1884 [Wilhem Konrad Rontgen] derails and hurtles toward the road bridge … More than 400 passengers are on the crashed ICE. ibid.
Could these damaged railway tracks four miles before the accident site really be linked to the cause of the disaster? ibid.
Closer examination of the wheels leads to a breakthrough discovery: one of them is seriously damaged and its steel rim has broken away … It smashes up through the carriage floor. ibid.
The Sunset Limited, part of Amtrak’s fleet, is America’s first coast to coast train. This double-decker super-liner combines the luxury of the past with high-tech innovation. But it’s barrelling into the night toward a boat lost on a foggy river. In just eight minutes the fate of 47 passengers and crew will be sealed in one of the worst train disasters in American history. Seconds from Disaster s1e6: Wreck of the Sunset Limited
On April 25th 1986 Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev has been in power for only one year … Chernobyl is a symbol of the Soviet Union’s industrial and technological muscle. Soviet nuclear scientists consider it to be the cream of the nation’s nuclear plants. Seconds from Disaster s1e7: Meltdown in Chernobyl
Chernobyl has four reactors all running at the same time. ibid.
A safety drill – but from the start, problems develop, and now something seems to be going very wrong. The young men who work the night shift struggle to prevent a major nuclear accident. ibid.
Chernobyl’s number four reactor explodes. The force of the explosion blows the reactor’s 2,000-ton steel roof sideways. 8 tons of highly reactive fuel blast into the night sky. ibid.
Guadalajala, Mexico: What lies beneath its streets is a labyrinth of pipes, cables and tunnels … The unthinkable happens: 206 citizens lose their lives. Seconds from Disaster s1e8: Inferno in Guadalajala
April 21st 1992: A foul smell has been hanging in the air for two days … People report seeing gas plumes coming out of manhole covers. Something is wrong underground … Residents now discover gasoline in their water supply. ibid.
The blast tears underground along the sewer line … Like a bomb zone … and still the blasts continue … The scale of destruction is immense. ibid.
15,000 people are homeless, 1,440 injured, and 206 dead. ibid.
Gasoline in the sewers … ‘an erosion takes place; the wall of the gasoline pipe decreases and the leak of gasoline takes place.’ ibid. expert
November 11th 2000: A high-tech mountain railway speeding skiers to the south. But on the opening day of the season the new train erupts into a fiery inferno. 155 people perish in 9 minutes. Seconds from Disaster s1e9: Fire on the Ski Slope
161 passengers are spread through the train … ‘The first unusual thing I noticed was the smoke’ … There are no smoke alarms … 600 metres into the dark tunnel the train suddenly stops … No emergency door release … Flames from the empty attendant’s cab burst into the apartment … ibid.
Of the 149 passengers trapped in the train not one survived. ibid.
Piper Alpha, one of the most productive oil platforms in the North Sea. It’s a city anchored in the ocean supporting more than 200 workers and pumping oil 24 hours a day. Then a routine day ends in disaster. 167 men perish in 1 hour and 30 minutes. Seconds from Disaster s1e10: Explosion in the North Sea
Piper Alpha has been in service for 12 years. Its main job is processing oil. ibid.
July 6th 1988: 10 p.m. Piper Alpha is shaken by a second colossal explosion captured on this video. A large section of the rig is engulfed in a roaring fireball. ibid.
By 12.45 a.m. the 20,000-ton Piper Alpha platform is gone. ibid.
Italy, July 19th 1985: There are two of these tailings dams in the Stava Valley, one built above the other … Without warning the dam bursts. Seconds from Disaster s1e11: Flood at Stava Dam
Racing at 55 mph the mudslide … continues on its path of destruction … entire streets and forests are wiped out … The catastrophe lasts 3.5 minutes but it leaves 3 miles of chaos in its wake. ibid.
Of the 281 missing, only 13 people are pulled out alive. ibid.
Not one but two dams have burst … The contents of the upper dam pour into the lower dam. ibid.