The Bridge Was Standing. Seconds Later, 1,300 Feet of It Was Gone
At about 7:34 a.m. on May 9, 1980, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge stretched across Tampa Bay as traffic moved through a powerful spring storm. Then the freighter…
Four Minutes Before Disaster: What Really Happened on the Deepwater Horizon
At 9:45 p.m. on April 20, 2010, the crew of the Deepwater Horizon was dealing with a well that had already begun to behave abnormally. Four minutes…
A 10-Year-Old Fell From a Spinning Ride. Then Investigators Found a Bigger Problem
The ride was spinning. The restraints were supposed to hold. Then, in a matter of seconds, a 10-year-old girl was suddenly thrown from the attraction. Hailey McMullen…
1,700 People Died Overnight. The Killer Came From Beneath the Lake
Lake Nyos looked like an ordinary volcanic lake. Then, on the night of August 21, 1986, something happened beneath its surface that turned it into a silent…
The Waterwitch Sank. Then a Fisherman Risked His Life to Save the Survivors
The Waterwitch was sinking below Newfoundland’s cliffs, 25 people were trapped in the freezing darkness, and help could not reach them from above. Then one local fisherman…
Northern Cyprus Ferry Capsized 15 Minutes After Departure. What Went Wrong?
The Filo Jet had been sailing for only 15 minutes when passengers suddenly realized water was entering the vessel. The ferry, carrying 267 people from Kyrenia to…
A Glacier Collapsed. What Came Down the Mountain Was Catastrophic
More than 350 people are dead. Nearly 1,400 others are still missing. And the disaster began with a collapse almost 17,000 feet above the Himalayas. A massive…
A Glacier Collapsed in Nepal. Thirty Minutes Later, a River Rose 9 Meters.
High in Nepal’s Himalayas, a massive section of glacier suddenly broke away and crashed down the mountainside. Just 30 minutes later, water levels in the river system…
The Flood Did Not Begin With Rain. It Began With a Collapse High in the Himalayas
A mass of ice and rock came crashing down from about five kilometers above sea level. Minutes later, rivers rose by as much as 15 feet, and…