Episodes

• Jonestown Cult Suicide

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  Friday 17th December 1978, deep in the Guyanese jungle, US congressman Leo Ryan and a team of journalists have just arrived at Jonestown - a religious community run by the enigmatic Reverend Jim Jones. They are there to investigate rumours of abuse and oppression.

• Fire In The Cockpit

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  On September 2nd 1998, Swissair Flight 111 came crashing into the Atlantic Ocean near Canada's eastern coastline. All 229 people on board were killed instantly by the impact. The recovery effort and subsequent investigation that followed remains the largest and most expensive in Canada's history.

• Black Hawk Down

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  On 3rd October 1993, US soldiers from the elite units of the U.S. Army's Rangers and Delta Force stormed a building near the in Mogadishu, Somalia, to capture key lieutenants in warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid's clan. What should have been a simple snatch and grab operation lasting under an hour, turned into a day and night battle that resulted in the deaths of 18 Rangers and an estimated 500 to 1,000 Somali civilians.

• Into The Death Zone

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  Over two days in spring of 1996, 9 climbers died on the descent from Mount Everest. A fierce storm, hubris and ambition and a series of errors contributed to make this the deadliest day in the history of the mountain.

• Terrified Over Tokyo

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  When a Boeing 747 crashes into a remote mountain-side 45 minutes after take off in 1985, investigators are left baffled. This is the deadliest single-aircraft accident in aviation history, with 520 passengers and crew left dead. Was the crash due to a bomb on board, or could something be flawed in the very structure of all 747s?

• Runaway Train

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  It's a regular morning in the lively town of Amagasaki when a busy commuter train derails and crashes into an apartment building, killing over a hundred passengers and trapping hundreds more inside.

• Nagasaki- The Forgotten Bomb

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  The use of the atomic bombs in World War II still excites controversy, particularly the necessity for the second bomb on Nagasaki. The argument that it was the only way to bring a swift end to the war, and save thousands of American lives, wins the day in public.

• Norway Massacre

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  On July 22, 2011, lone gunman Anders Behring Breivik emerges from a western Norwegian suburb to commit one of the worst terrorist atrocities in Europe since World War II. The massacre starts with an explosion in Oslo and finishes with the slaughter of dozens of teenagers at a youth camp on the isolated island of Utoya.

• Sinking The Coventry

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  May 25 1982, The Falklands War. HMS Coventry, a Type 42 guided-missile destroyer is on operations with HMS Broadsword. They are tasked with shooting down Argentinian jets. They face a low level attack from 4 fighters which leads to the loss of Coventry.

• Chinook Helicopter Crash

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  June 2nd 1994 and RAF Chinook helicopter was engaged in a routine but important task transporting 25 members of the Northern Ireland security and intelligence community from RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland to Fort George near Inverness. This journey was brought to a dramatic end when the Chinook crashed into the Mull of Kintyre.

• The Bismarck

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  The Royal Navy's battle with Bismarck is a pivotal point in the Second World War. If Bismarck had succeeded in attacking the British convoy system, then Britain would probably have been forced to surrender, leaving no bridgehead for an Anglo-American liberation of Europe. In losing Bismarck, the Germans lost their opportunity to defeat Britain and turn the tide of war. Naval historian Andrew Lambert has studied this famous sea battle and sheds light on the reasons for Bismarck's fate. He believes the sinking follows a catalogue of errors on both sides, and ultimately he finds fault with the core German war strategy.

• Mountain Tsunami

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  In 1960 construction of Europe's tallest dam is completed in in the Vajont Valley in Northern Italy - the jewel in the crown of an ambitious hydro-electric generation scheme. But as the new reservoir fills, a vast section of mountainside is dislodged and creeps toward the lake. The power company know the landslide has the potential to cause a devastating tsunami if it hits the water at speed, so they develop a plan to ease the landslide down by adjusting the level of the lake. For three years there are no problems, but in October 1963, the landslide suddenly accelerates - and slams into the reservoir as fast as a formula one car - creating a tsunami...

• Waco Cult

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  Waco, Texas. On February 28th 1993 the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms raid a compound belonging to a religious cult called the Branch Davidians. They attempt to arrest cult leader David Koresh for alleged firearms offences. A gunfight breaks out that leaves six Branch Davidians and four ATF agents dead. The FBI arrives to take control but the situation escalates into one of the Americas longest sieges. After a fifty-one day stand off the FBI launches a dawn assault. Using military tanks they inject tear gas through the walls and windows in an attempt to force the Branch Davidians out. Besieged cult members refuse to surrender and a disastrous...

• Fukushima

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  In March 2011, as Japan reels from the most powerful earthquake in its history, a 14 metre-high tsunami surges over the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, knocking out its power supply and essential cooling systems. With the plant blacked out, engineers face nuclear meltdown. The reactors begin to overheat leading to two huge explosions that tear the plant apart and dispersing radiation. As Japan faces the worst nuclear emergency since Chernobyl, an international nuclear expert will investigate exactly what happed at Fukushima and see what, if anything, could have been done to prevent it.

• The Deepwater Horizon

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  The Deepwater Horizon rig has finished drilling the Macondo Well for BP in the Gulf of Mexico. The well, in water 1500m deep, extends to a depth of 4000m. The crew test the well to ensure it is safely sealed so the Deepwater Horizon rig can move on before another rig starts oil extraction. But just hours after the well passes its safety test, flammable gas and crude oil shoot out of the well, enveloping the rig in flames and killing 11 workers. Seconds from Disaster investigates the series of decisions and failings that culminated in the catastrophe and the world's biggest accidental marine oil spill.

• Mumbai Massacre

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  At 9.20pm on 26 November 2008 gunmen burst into Mumbai's luxury Trident Oberoi hotel, firing indiscriminately. A Jewish study centre at Nariman House, popular with American and Israeli Jews, is targeted around the same time, followed by tourist hangout Café Leopold, the city's most luxurious hotel, the Taj Mahal Palace, and the CST, one of the world's busiest rail stations. These unprecedented commando-style attacks, which leave 166 dead, have clearly targeted both the Indian public and Western visitors. Seconds from Disaster reveals the failings that allowed 10 terrorists free reign of India's largest city - killing at will - in front of the...

• 9/11

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  Tuesday, September 11, 2001, a temperate and nearly cloudless morning over the eastern United States. Millions of men and women ready themselves for work. Among them is an air traffic controller in Boston, Mass. Based on sheer intuition, he will break all protocol this morning, alerting the Air Force that a potential disaster is unfolding on his radar screen. Air Force Colonel Bob Marr, commander NEADS (North East Air Defense Sector] will scramble all he has to try and avert a catastrophe - but it will consist of only two F-15's that begin "searching for a needle in a haystack". Meanwhile, a group of 19 young men armed with simple box cutters...

• Pearl Harbor

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  On a quiet Sunday morning in 1941 the pride of the US Navy rode calmly at anchor in the island paradise of Hawaii, far away from the war raging in Europe. That calm was abruptly shattered by the arrival of Imperial Japan's carrier taskforce that, in an unprecedented surprise attack, killed thousands and destroyed the American battleships that stood between Japan and its desire for a Pacific empire. This "day of infamy" seemed to be the most successful pre-emptive strike in history and a disaster for the United States. But was it? Seconds from Disaster takes a fresh look at one of history's greatest events and investigates whether the attack was...

• Alpine Collision

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  In February 1998 a US Marine Corps prowler jet took off for a routine training mission through the Italian Alps. On the final leg of its flight the aircraft's right wing sliced through the supporting cable of a ski gondola filled with tourists. The gondola plummeted over 100m to the valley floor and all 20 passengers perished. The prowler jet was severely damaged but the pilot made it back the 90kilometres to their base. Seconds from Disaster investigates the causes and repercussions of the crash and speaks exclusively with a member of the aircrew who, alongside the investigators and victims' families, are all still haunted by this tragedy.

• Paddington Rail Disaster

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  October 5th 1999, a passenger train leaving London Paddington during the morning rush hour collides with an incoming train at a combined speed of 209 kph. The impact, and an unprecedented 20-meter high fireball, that sweeps over the mangled carriages, kills 29 passengers and both drivers, and leaves hundreds injured and trapped in the twisted wreckage. The original lead investigators recreate their analysis of how two trains came to be travelling towards each other on the same stretch of track, and why automatic warning systems and fully functioning brakes were not enough to prevent one of the worst rail accidents in British history. Step by step...

• Death In Mid-Air

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  For the forty-five schoolchildren who boarded the Bashkirian Airlines flight from Moscow to Barcelona it was going to be the trip of a lifetime, a reward for their academic success. But more than two and a half hours into the flight their Tupolev 154 collided with a Boeing 757 cargo plane over the small German lakeside town of Überlingen, sending all aboard to a horrifying death. With both aircraft equipped with collision avoidance systems and being monitored by Zurich's flight control centre, how was it possible for such an accident to occur? Seconds from Disaster counts down to the moment of impact and investigates the perfect storm of failures...

• Bhopal

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  December 3rd 1984. Evening descends on Bhopal, a bustling Indian city of nearly 1 million people, many, factory workers living in the slums surrounding the city. As they cook, eat and prepare for bed, few have any inkling that, in a few terrifying hours, more than 3,000 of them will choke to death in clouds of toxic gas. 'MIC' used at the plant to create the pesticide 'Sevin', is one of the most toxic substances known to man. It causes severe damage to the human respiratory system resulting in suffocation by drowning. After years of investigation and analysis; industry experts, workers and survivors testify as to what happened that night in December...

• Plane Crash In Queens

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  American Airlines Flight 587 is a popular flight between New York's John F. Kennedy Airport and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Two months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on 12 November, 2001, an Airbus A300-605R takes off on this routine flight. At 9:16 AM, within two minutes of take-off, something goes horribly wrong and Flight 587 is in dire trouble. The tail fin shears off the Airbus fuselage and the plane is doomed. It slams into Rockaway, a residential area of New York City that is home to many firemen, police and their families who had been deeply affected by the events 9/11. The horrifying crash takes the lives of 265 passengers,...

• Titanic

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  In the golden age of ocean liners, one ship has been built to outpace and outshine them all: the Titanic. Billed as the "Unsinkable" ship, the Titanic is a mechanical marvel, a combination of innovative and luxurious design. However, just days after its voyage begins, the Titanic meets a catastrophic end, becoming one of the biggest shipping disasters of all time. On 14 April, 1912 at 11:40 PM, the Titanic grazes an iceberg, which causes the ship to sink, taking with it the lives of more than 1,500 people. Officials have struggled for decades to sift through the theories and conspiracy speculations to figure out what sank the massive ship. Using...

• Munich Olympic Massacre

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  The 1972 Munich Olympics holds significant promise, offering a chance to showcase a new Germany to a post-WWII world. However, this hopeful beginning meets a tragic end on September 5 at just after 4:00 AM when Palestinian terrorists kill two Israeli athletes and capture 9 others. As police struggle to handle the crisis, the terrorists anticipate their every move. By 1:30 AM on 6 September, the fighting finally stops, and all of the athletes, five terrorists and one German police officer are dead. With the circumstances behind the police's actions shrouded in mystery, one athlete's wife vows to uncover the truth. An anonymous source begins sending...

• Aircraft Carrier Explosion

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  "The fire was everywhere and the thought going through your mind is to just escape". This chilling recap from survivor Dave Dollarhide, a pilot on the USS Forrestal, details one of the most famous disasters in U.S. military history. During the Vietnam War on 29 July, 1967, Dollarhide was one of six Skyhawk pilots on deck, preparing for an airborne attack. However, the danger that day did not come from enemy fire, but from a blazing inferno on the ship itself. At 10:51 AM, as pilots prepare for take off, a sudden explosion occurs, igniting a fire that spread flames across the deck and into the heart of the ship below. Initial explosions wipe out...

• Superstore Collapse

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  In less than 20 seconds on 29 June, 1995 at 5:52 PM, a major superstore in Seoul, South Korea with 1,500 employees and shoppers inside collapses, sending thousands of tonnes of rubble to the ground. Rescue workers begin the agonizing mission of pulling out survivors while investigators scramble to ascertain the cause of the collapse, which killed more than 500 people. Was it terrorism or another gas blast that continually rock the city? What the officials uncover terrifies them and its aftermath affects an astonishing 98 percent of buildings in South Korea. Superstore Collapse highlights the unimaginable stories of survivors trapped for approximately...

• Asian Tsunami

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  On 26 December, 2004, the largest earthquake in 40 years strikes deep beneath the Indian Ocean. Lasting eight minutes and stretching a record 1,600 kilometres in length, the earthquake's massive strength surpasses measurement on the Richter scale. Just after 8:15 AM, billions of tonnes of water speed towards land with a force equivalent to more than 30,000 Hiroshima bombs. Within minutes, the terrifying wall of water makes landfall, engulfing entire towns in its path. Deadly currents and dangerous debris tear buildings apart, as people across South Asia fight for survival. Ultimately claiming the lives of more than 250,000 people, it is the most...

• Plane Crash In The Potomac

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  As a winter storm blankets the Washington, DC area with inches of snow, Air Florida Flight 90 prepares for its journey. Just 24 seconds after take-off at 4:01 PM on 13 January, 1982, the plane collides with the Washington, DC's 14th Street Bridge, a major commuter bridge for the city, before crashing into the icy river below. As the plane breaks apart, five passengers and one flight attendant survive the crash only to find themselves trapped in water just one degree above freezing. Rescue workers try desperately to save the six badly injured survivors clinging to wreckage. With 78 people dead, U.S. officials now face the daunting task of uncovering...

• Comet Air Crash

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  In early 1954, De Havilland is at the forefront of commercial aviation, introducing the first passenger jet airliner to the world. On 10 January, 1954, a flight takes off in Rome at 10:31 AM to finish the last leg of its international journey, carrying children returning home for the school term, a famous BBC reporter and others travelling to Britain. Approximately 30 minutes later, the plane disappears from radar at high altitude and crashes into the Mediterranean Sea. Authorities confirm that all 35 passengers and crew have died, and post-mortem examinations show unusual injuries to many victims. As officials work to identify a cause, a second...

• Chicago Air Crash

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  On 25 May, 1979, a McDonell Douglas - DC10 aircraft, packed with holiday and business travellers takes off from Chicago's O'Hare Airport in the U.S. Only 31 seconds after take-off at 3:04 PM, the plane slams into a trailer park community. Hundreds of witnesses claim to have seen an engine separate from the wing upon take-off, but the three-engine DC10 should have been able to fly using just one engine. The experienced crew was thoroughly trained and the plane received routine maintenance just weeks before. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board must attempt to rebuild the plane from tiny pieces of debris and perform a second-by-second...

• Tornado Outbreak

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  On 3 April, 1974, the United States' 'Tornado Alley' region experiences the full force of Mother Nature's raw power when a single storm system causes an astonishing 148 tornadoes to touch down in thirteen states in just one day. Several of these storms are F-5 strength, the strongest storms on Earth with winds up to 511 kilometres per hour. The tornadoes rip through quiet rural communities and bustling towns, leaving paths of destruction in their wake. When the weather finally clears, 330 people are dead and more than 5,400 people are injured, causing more than US $660 million in damage. Top meteorologists from around the country must work together...

• Eruption On Montserrat

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  The tranquillity of Montserrat, an island paradise in the Caribbean, is shattered in 1995 when the Soufriere Hills erupt for the first time in recorded history. The eruption takes the population of Montserrat by surprise. Scientists flock to the island and closely monitor the volcano over the next two years. Evacuations take place and an exclusion zone is mapped out. Then at 12:45pm on June 25th 1997 two years after the first eruption a massive tremor rocks the mountain. A plume of hot ash and steam soon spews into the air; reaching 45,000 feet in a matter of minutes and shrouding half the island in darkness. There follows 25 minutes of violent...

• Texas Oil Explosion

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  Texas City is home to one of the largest refineries in the U.S., which covers 500 hectares and produces more than 41 million litres of gasoline each day. On Wednesday, 23 March, 2005 at 1:20 PM, it becomes ground zero for the biggest chemical accident the Houston area has seen in 15 years. What begins as routine maintenance work ends in tragedy as highly flammable liquid hydrocarbon floods the refinery's system, overflowing the vast tank and bursting through the ventilation tower. The vapour forms pools outside the tank that are ignited by a spark from a nearby truck engine. The resulting blast is felt from up to eight kilometres away. In total,...

• Space Shuttle Challenger

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  Excitement and anticipation surrounds the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, U.S. This momentous endeavour would mark the first time that any civilian has been flown into space. On 28 January, 1986, school children and others watch eagerly on the ground and on television, as school teacher Christa McAuliffe prepares to become the first civilian to join the astronauts. At 11:38 AM, Space Shuttle Challenger lifts off, barrelling towards the atmosphere. However, a mere 73 seconds later, onlookers and the nation watch in horror when the shuttle is suddenly engulfed in flames and breaks apart in the sky. A full-scale...

• Skywalk Collapse

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  In 1981, at the Hyatt hotel in Kansas City, suspended walkways come away from their fixings, plummeting onto revellers below and leaving 114 dead and 186 injured. What caused this structural failure?

• Amsterdam Air Crash

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  A fully loaded El-Al 747 cargo flight takes off from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on October 4, 1992. As it climbs, the two engines on the right wing fall to the earth and the jumbo jet ploughs into a crowded apartment block.

• Florida Swamp Air Crash

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  On May 11, 1996, ValuJet Flight 592 en route to Atlanta takes off, with no one aware there's a fire in the cargo hold. Nine minutes into the flight, the jet crashes into the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 people on board.

• King s Cross Fire

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  November 18, 1987: during rush hour at King's Cross, Britain's busiest Underground rail station, a carelessly discarded match sparks the deadliest fire in the Underground's history, killing 31 people.

• US Embassy Bombings

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  Nairobi, Kenya, 7 August, 1998. Terrorists detonate a truck bomb at the rear of the US embassy, killing 213 people and injuring 4,000 more. The embassy in Tanzania is also hit, resulting in an FBI manhunt for Osama bin Laden.

• Russia's Nuclear Sub Nightmare

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  The Kursk, a Russian submarine, is on a military exercise when two explosions send her plunging to the bottom of the sea. What caused the tragedy? Theories include sabotage, friendly fire, and a collision with a US submarine.

• Crash Landing At Sioux City

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  On July 19, 1989, a DC10-10 operated by United Airlines flight 232 experiences a catastrophic failure on its number two tail mounted engine during the flight. The tail engine's fan disc splits. It severs all the hydraulic lines. The plane becomes uncontrollable. A flying instructor heads to the cockpit and offers his assistance. Together they manage to wrestle the plane to the ground but the plane starts plunging towards the runway at Sioux City, Iowa, U.S at speeds almost three times the normal rate. In a dramatic emergency landing, it cartwheels, veers right into a field, breaks into three parts and erupts in a massive fireball. Of the 285 passengers...

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  Thursday 30 December at 16:40 CAT

  On National Geographic

• The Bali Bombing

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  On October 12, 2002, the peaceful island of Bali, Indonesia was stunned by the worst terrorist attacks since 9-11. At 11:07 pm a bomb explodes at the busy Paddy's Bar in Kuta Beach, Bali. Fifteen seconds later, a second, massive blast devastates the Sari Club across the road. Then a smaller third bomb - a calling card - explodes outside the US Consulate in another part of Bali. Paddy's Bar and Sari Club are situated on a popular strip of nightclubs and restaurants on Kuta Beach. The streets are packed full foreigners out for the night. Balinese whizz around on motorbikes and the street is bumper-to-bumper with cars. This is a hugely popular place,...

• Paris Train Crash

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  Gare de Lyon, Paris, 27 June 1988, a frantic train driver calls the stationmaster at Gare de Lyon, with terrible news. His train is out of control, heading downhill towards one of Paris' biggest stations. After desperate attempts to slow the train and hysterical calls to the Paris station, he leaves his cab and moves passengers to the rear of the runaway train. Seconds after his last call, the train careers into the station and ploughs into the back of a packed stationary commuter train which sits still on the platform. Fifty-six people die in what, at the time, was the worst disaster in French railway history. There is an enormous public outcry...

• Hotel Collapse Singapore

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  On March 15, 1986, Singapore experiences the worst national disaster since the end of the Second World War. At 11.25 a.m., Hotel New World, a popular budget hotel, bank and nightclub in Singapore's Little India District collapses like a pack of cards. In less than a minute the occupants of the building are buried under a mammoth pile of concrete and debris. Fifty people are trapped - many in the upper layers of the rubble but a number have fallen into the basement car park below the building. They are plunged into complete darkness with 6 storeys of concrete on top of them. Rescue team crawl through small tunnels in the rubble to pull out bodies...

• Explosion In Puerto Rico

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  About 8:30 a.m. on November 21, 1996, a commercial building in San Juan, Puerto Rico, explodes due to a natural gas leak. Thirty-three people were killed, and at least 69 were injured. The building was situated in Rió Piedras, a shopping district in San Juan. The structure was a six-story mixture of offices and shops, owned by Humberto Vidal Inc. Investigations revealed that an inactive gas service line that had once serviced the Chicken Kingdom. restaurant leaked though a corrosion hole caused by excavation damage. How could have the gas leak been prevented? Why wasn't it detected earlier?

• TWA Flight 800

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  July 17, 1996, it's a hot summer's day in New York and TWA flight 800 from JFK to Paris is running 90 minutes late. The 230 passengers and crew swelter on the runway awaiting take off. There is no reason to suspect anything is wrong, but in less than 30 minutes the Boeing 747 explodes and plummets 16,000 feet into the waters off Long Island, killing everyone on board. There is no mayday call from the crew. The mystery spawns a theory that the plane was accidentally downed by a US Navy missile and prompts the biggest crash investigation in U.S. history. Could it have been a missile attack? Or a catastrophic mechanical failure caused by the overheated...

• The Hindenburg

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  The largest airship ever built and the pride of Nazi Germany's government, the Hindenburg met its fatal demise on May 6, 1937. Named after the president of Germany, Paul Von Hindenburg, the airship was 245 meters long and could cruise grandly across the Atlantic at 1268 km/h. The Hindenburg epitomised an era of luxury travel. But on her first trip of the 1937 season, disaster strikes. As she approaches at Lakehurst Naval Station in New Jersey, U.S., fire breaks out and the ship is engulfed in a flames. In less than a minute, the airship is destroyed. Miraculously, only 36 of the 97 passengers and crew are killed. The Hindenburg disaster spelled...

• Crash of The Concorde

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  In July 2000, the world's first supersonic airliner crashed into the ground, killing all on board and putting an end to its 25-year reign as the high-speed symbol of luxury and human achievement.

  Next Showing

  Wednesday 1 December at 16:45 CAT

  On National Geographic

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  Thursday 2 December at 03:50 CAT

  On National Geographic

• Tunnel Inferno

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  In 1999 a freight truck caught fire in the seven-mile Mont Blanc tunnel, creating a deadly inferno and one of the world's worst tunnel accidents.

  Next Showing

  Thursday 2 December at 16:45 CAT

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  Friday 3 December at 03:50 CAT

  On National Geographic

• The Bomb In Oklahoma City

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  A reconstruction of the terrorist attack on the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building in 1995, which left 168 dead and 674 injured. The programme looks at why the building collapsed and why some people died whilst others lived.

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  Friday 3 December at 16:25 CAT

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  Saturday 4 December at 03:30 CAT

  On National Geographic

• Fire On The Star

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  In 1990 a lethal fire broke out on the Scandinavian Star ferry during the early hours while passengers slept. Many were overcome by fumes and died. Investigators piece together the events and ask whether it was accident or arson.

  Next Showing

  Monday 6 December at 16:30 CAT

  On National Geographic

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  Tuesday 7 December at 03:50 CAT

  On National Geographic

• Derailment At Eschede

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  Behind every disaster lies a catalogue of events, a series of trigger points that combine to create a catastrophe. "Seconds From Disaster" examines those pivotal moments, some of which changed the course of history itself.

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  Tuesday 7 December at 16:40 CAT

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  Wednesday 8 December at 03:35 CAT

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• Wreck of The Sunset Limited

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  Behind every disaster lies a catalogue of events, a series of trigger points that combine to create a catastrophe. "Seconds From Disaster" examines those pivotal moments, some of which changed the course of history itself.

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  Wednesday 8 December at 16:30 CAT

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  Thursday 9 December at 03:35 CAT

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• Meltdown In Chernobyl

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  At the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, a routine test is being carried out. But the situation spirals out of control. The nuclear reactor core breaks down and within 56 seconds one of the most catastrophic nuclear accidents in history occurs

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  Thursday 9 December at 16:45 CAT

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  Friday 10 December at 03:30 CAT

  On National Geographic

• Explosion In The North Sea

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  Piper Alpha oil rig churned out 120,000 barrels of oil a day until a lapse in communication during maintenance led to a gas leak and a ferocious fire. The resulting explosions killed 167 men and destroyed the rig.

  Next Showing

  Friday 10 December at 16:25 CAT

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  Saturday 11 December at 03:30 CAT

  On National Geographic

• Fire On The Ski Slope

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  Behind every disaster lies a catalogue of events, a series of trigger points that combine to create a catastrophe. "Seconds From Disaster" examines those pivotal moments, some of which changed the course of history itself.

  Next Showing

  Monday 13 December at 16:30 CAT

  On National Geographic

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  Tuesday 14 December at 03:25 CAT

  On National Geographic

• Flood At Stava Dam

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  Stava dam consisted of two basins, one on top of the other. Due to poor design they could not cope with waste from a nearby mining operation and collapsed, causing sludge to flow down the valley to the village of Stava at 90kmph.

  Next Showing

  Tuesday 14 December at 16:35 CAT

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  Wednesday 15 December at 03:30 CAT

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• Inferno At Guadalajara

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  Wednesday 15 December at 16:40 CAT

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  Thursday 16 December at 03:30 CAT

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• Collision On The Runway

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  The world's worst aviation accident occured when two jumbo jets collided in fog on the runway at Tenerife. Both planes, fully loaded with fuel, burst into flames leaving 583 people dead.

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  Monday 20 December at 16:30 CAT

  On National Geographic

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  Tuesday 21 December at 03:25 CAT

  On National Geographic

• Pentagon 9-11

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  Tuesday, September 11, 2001, a temperate and nearly cloudless morning over the eastern United States. Millions of men and women ready themselves for work. Among them is an air traffic controller in Boston, Mass. Based on sheer intuition, he will break all protocol this morning, alerting the Air Force that a potential disaster is unfolding on his radar screen. Air Force Colonel Bob Marr, commander NEADS (North East Air Defense Sector] will scramble all he has to try and avert a catastrophe - but it will consist of only two F-15's that begin "searching for a needle in a haystack". Meanwhile, a group of 19 young men armed with simple box cutters...

  Next Showing

  Friday 17 December at 16:25 CAT

  On National Geographic

  Next Showing

  Saturday 18 December at 03:30 CAT

  On National Geographic