The most tragic architectural disasters in history

Architects are the most ordinary people who also tend to make mistakes. However, miscalculations in construction can sometimes result in terrible tragedies, the price of which is a lot of claimed lives. We present to you the 12 most catastrophic cases of the collapse of various buildings in recent centuries that have occurred outside our country.

Cinema "Knickerbocker" (Washington, USA) January 28, 1922

The 5-year-old building could not withstand the severity of the thick layer of snow formed on the roof as a result of a blizzard, which did not stop for a couple of days. At the time of the collapse, the cinema was full of people, the death toll reached 98 people.

Yarmouth Bridge (Great Yarmouth, England) May 2, 1845

On May 2, 1845, hundreds of children and their parents came to see the performance of a clown floating on a river in a barrel pulled by a goose. They all gathered on the Yarmouth Bridge. As soon as a crowd of people abruptly moved to the other side of the bridge to watch the clown swim under it, the structure could not stand it, the chains broke and the platform turned over.

Pemberton Mill Factory (Lawrence, Massachusetts) January 10, 1860

After standing for 7 years, the factory building suddenly collapsed, killing 145 people. It turned out that during the construction they used cheap steel columns, which on the day of the tragedy could not stand it.

South Fork Dam on Lake Conemog (Pennsylvania, United States) May 31, 1889

In fact, the dam has long been in need of repair, and its breakthrough was only a matter of time. 20 million tons of water escaping, headed towards Johnstown, killing 2209 people as a result.

Quebec Bridge (Canada) August 29, 1907 and September 11, 1916

The 987-meter bridge in Quebec is considered the longest cantilever bridge in the world, and it collapsed twice during its existence. The first time killed 75 people, and the second - 13.

Ronan Point Tower (London, England) May 16, 1968

Only a couple of months have passed since the construction, when there was a gas leak in the tower. As a result of the explosion, one bearing wall collapsed. 4 people died.

John Hancock Tower (Massachusetts, New England, USA)

The highlight of this building was the use of blue reflective glass. However, as subsequent practice has shown, this was far from the best solution. Double-glazed windows could not withstand the load and crushed onto the pavement under the pressure of the wind. In especially windy weather, the police had to block the passageways to the building in order to avoid injuries. After 5 years, all 10 344 windows were still replaced.

Dam on the Teton River (Idaho, USA) June 5, 1976

The cause of the breakthrough of the dam on the Tithon River was a construction error, which led to the deaths of 11 people and 13 thousand injuries.

Sampoong Shopping Center (Seoul, South Korea) June 29, 1995

The collapse of the department store in Seoul before the 9/11 attack was considered the most catastrophic. That day, 502 people died.

Celebration Hall (Jerusalem, Israel) May 24, 2001

Designers poorly calculated the load, as a result of which the design could not withstand the gravity of the crowd of dancing guests. Then 23 people were killed and 380 injured.

Lotus Riverside Complex (Shanghai, China) June 27, 2009

The complex consisted of eleven 13-story houses, but in June 2009 one of them suddenly collapsed.

Rana Plaza Building (Savar, Bangladesh) April 24, 2013

As soon as people noticed that cracks crept along the walls of the 8-story building, an immediate evacuation began. However, people from the upper floors did not have time to leave the building before it collapsed. The accident killed 1,127 people.