If we have a look at history, then we will come to know that humans have been always liable to accidents. Accident is an unfortunate incident that happens unintentionally and generally results in injury, damage or loss. Accidents are seemed to be tragic and miserable but there are some experiments that are expensive too. We know that there is nothing more expensive than the life of an individual but here we provide you a list of top 10 most expensive Accidents ever, in terms of property loss. These accidents caused tremendous damage and are extremely dreadful. Natural disasters, terrorism and wars are not considered as accidents therefore are not included in this list.
10. Sinking Of The Titanic, 1912 ($150 million)
This accident happened in early 19s but it is known by every one, even by the young generation and the credit of its fame goes to Hollywood. The ship alone had a worth of $7 million that is approximately $150 million in today’s dollar. The ship titanic was set sail on a journey of five day from Southampton, England to New York City, US. It was one of the biggest ships and a great masterpiece of art that was considered to be unsinkable due to its safety measures. But it was sunk on 15th of April, 1912 on the way towards its first destination, after colliding with an iceberg. It was a deadliest accident as more than 1500 passengers and crew lost their lives. Titanic is deliberated as one of the most luxurious ships ever designed.
9. Tanker Truck Explosion On Wiehltal Bridge, 2004 ($358 million)
This expensive accident happened in the Federal Republic of Germany on 26th of August, 2004, when a tanker truck holding 32,000 liters of fuel was hit with a car on wiehltal Bridge and the truck fell ninety feet onto the A4 Autobahn after crashing through a guardrail, and resulted in a huge explosion. As a consequence of this explosion, the tremendous fire destroyed the bridge. Initial repairs devoured $40 million and when the time came to repair the bridge, it cost almost $318 million.
8. Chatsworth Train Collision, 2008 ($500 million)
Chatsworth train collision is one of the costliest, and the worst train accidents in the history. This incident happened on 12th of September, 2008, when a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific Freight train crashed head-on in the district named Chatsworth of Los Angeles, California. The cause of the accident was the negligence of Metrolink’s train conductor, as he was distracted by text messages which he was sending while on duty and did not notice the red signal. Twenty five individuals died in this accident and many survivors remained hospitalized for a prolonged period of time. This deadly error made Metrolink loss of almost $500 million.
7. B-2 Stealth Heavy Bomber Crash, 2008 ($1.4 billion)
B-2 Stealth heavy bomber crash is the most expensive crash in the history of USAF. On 23rd of February, 2008, a US Air Force B-2 stealth bomber, crashed on the runway right away after takeoff from the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. According to investigation, the cause of the accident was due to a mistake in the computer data control system. Both crew members tried to save the bomber but it did not work, both of them miraculously escaped but the aircraft was completely destroyed and made an estimated loss of $1.4 billion.
6. Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, 1989 ($2.5 billion)
The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill accident happened in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on 24th of March, 1989, when an oil tanker named Exxon Valdez bound for long beach, California, crashed into a Bligh Reef of Prince William Sound and spilled 260,000 to 75,000 barrels of crude oil that polluted the water and extended until the Gulf of Alaska. It is deliberated as one of the most destructive human caused environmental disasters. This spillage is considered the worst spill in the history of America, damaging over 1,300 miles of shoreline, destroying the lives of various individuals in the area and killing hundreds of birds and marine animals. Multiple factors were identified that contributed to this accident. The cleanup cost of the Exxon Oil Spill was $2.5 billion.
5. Piper Alpha Oil Rig, 1988 ($3.4 billion)
The Piper Alpha oil rig that killed 167 workers on 6th of July, 1988, off the coast of Aberdeen is the deadliest ever oil rig accident in the world. At that time Piper Alpha Oil was the world’s largest oil producer as it could produce approximately 317,000 barrels of oil each day. On the day of this accident, routine maintenance staff removed and inspected safety valves that were necessary in restricting hazardous build up of liquid gas. Among 100 safety valves, one valve unfortunately remained released and it resulted in an extremely large scale disaster. When the platform blew 167 out of 228 workers were died and the platform was completely destroyed and it took approximately 3 weeks to bring the fire under control. This miserable off shore oil disaster in terms of industry impact and lives lost cost $ 3.4 billion in damages.
4. Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster, 1986 ($5.5 billion)
Just after seventy three seconds of takeoff, the Space Shuttle Challenger shattered with all the seven crew members inside on 28th of January, 1986. All damages resulted in cost of almost $5.5 billion in today’s dollars; the cost of replacing the aircraft was $2 billion that is equal to $4.5 million of todays, whereas the cost of problem solving, investigation and equipment’s replacement was $450 million that is equal to $1 billion of today. The disintegration of the spacecraft occurred due to a defect in O-ring. The failure of O-ring caused a breach in the sealing of a joint that allowed pressurized hot gas to reach the outside and encroached upon the adjacent attachment hardware and the external fuel tank, it resulted in a huge explosion. This incident changed the space program forever.
3. Prestige Oil Spill, 2002 ($12 billion)
The Prestige oil tanker was carrying 77,000 tons of massive fuel oil on 13th of November, 2002, when one of its 12 tanks exploded during a storm off Galicia, Spain. The captain asked for help as he was afraid of the sinking of the ship but all in vain, local authorities’ pressure forced the captain to drive the ship away from the harbor. The captain tried to get aid from the Portuguese and French authorities, but they also ordered him to steer the ship away. The storm overwhelmed the ship resulting in the splitting of the tanker and spilling of twenty millions gallons oil into the sea. The oil polluted thousands of km of coastline and over one thousand beaches on the French, Spanish and Portuguese coast, and also caused huge damage to the local fishing industry. This incident is the largest environmental disaster in both Portuguese and Spanish history and the total cleanup cost is $12 billion.
2. Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster, 2003 ($13 billion)
This explosion occurred on 1st of February, 2003, when Columbia shattered over Louisiana and Texas as it reentered atmosphere of the earth, assassinating all seven crew members. When the shuttle reentered the Earth’s atmosphere, the disintegration allowed hot atmospheric gases to pierce and demolish the internal wing structure that resulted in making the spacecraft unstable and slowly break apart. According to the American institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the total cost of this expensive accident is $13 billion.
1. Chernobyl Accident, 1986 ( $200 billion)
It was a catastrophic nuclear accident that happened on 26th of April, 1986, at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. An explosion and fire escaped huge quantities of radioactive particles into the atmosphere, which extent over much of the Europe and western USSR. This explosion is the worst nuclear power plant disaster in terms of casualties and cost. The accident was officially associated to power plant operators who infringed plant procedures and were negligent of the safety measures required. Due to this disaster 50 percent part of Ukraine was affected and contaminated.
1.7 million Individuals were directly influenced by the accident whereas 200,000 individuals were departed and transferred. Long terms effects like deformities and cancers are still believe to affect the people. The total cost of clean up, compensation and resettlement is estimated to be around $200 billion.
