What is the biggest train tragedy in New Zealand?

On the Christmas Eve of 1958, a New Zealand river suddenly churned violently. 10 that night 15, an express bus from Wellington and Auckland passed by. As the bridge of the railway bridge was washed away by the rapids, the train slipped into the flood. According to official statistics, 15 1 of the 285 people on board were killed.

On the Christmas Eve of 1958, a New Zealand river suddenly roared, which really fulfilled the local Maori's name of "crying river". Afternoon 10 afternoon 15, Ellis, a 27-year-old postal worker, is driving a truck, ready to cross a highway bridge across the Wang Ayi Lake River. Suddenly, he stopped the car and looked forward in surprise. He found that the normally docile king Ayi Lake River became uncharacteristically crazy. The rapids in the river have already exceeded the previous height, and the bridge is submerged in the water. Stones, clods, volcanic ash and ice are mixed together, making a loud noise downstream, which can be heard several kilometers away. Ellis looked around and suddenly he was surprised. He saw a light ahead and a train was coming in the direction of the river. The railway bridge is 90 meters upstream of it. He can't see the situation there, but he knows that if the highway bridge is flooded, it will be even more impassable. In fact, if he can see the railway bridge, the sight will definitely make his hair stand on end. The bridge body of the railway bridge has been washed away by the flood, and only two rails hang in the river like silk thread. Ellis began to run to the railway, shaking his flashlight to signal the train, but all these efforts seemed to have no effect.

To make matters worse, the coming train is not a truck, but an express bus from Wellington to Auckland. There are nine carriages hanging on the train, which are full of people preparing for the holiday. Many people made a special trip to Auckland to witness the arrival of Queen Elizabeth II in New Zealand at Christmas. A few minutes later, the front of the train, the coal waterwheel and the first five carriages slipped into the flood. The heartbreaking screams in the carriage pierced the night sky. The sixth car was hung on the pier at a 45-degree angle, and the next three cars were unhooked and stopped on the railway.

Seeing this situation, Ellis frantically ran to the rear of the car, found the dumbfounded flight attendant, and ran with him to the sixth carriage leaning against the pier. The passengers in the carriage were pale and stunned by the sudden incident. Ellis immediately got on the bus to help passengers near the rear of the car land safely. But before all the passengers got off the train, the train suddenly slipped and plunged into the rapids below 10 meters.

Ellis and other passengers in the car were trapped in the carriage. The carriage rolled back and forth in the dark and the flood rushed into the carriage. The carriage turned over more than 50 meters in the muddy water and finally stopped. One side of the carriage landed on the ground and the other side was above the flood. Surprisingly, Ellis's flashlight is intact and can still be used. He took a photo with a flashlight, and everyone in the carriage was still alive. But he knows that he won't be here long, and the flood is pouring into the carriage. He managed to break the window pane on his head. With the help of ground personnel, after 90 minutes of fighting, he finally transferred all the passengers on the bus to a safe place.

After midnight, all the 22 passengers in the carriage escaped from danger except a little girl who was drowned by the muddy water under the carriage seat. In the first five carriages, the situation was far from optimistic, but surprisingly, 28 people got out of the carriages and escaped safely. This includes an old lady. When people found her, she had been washed out more than 300 meters away, and the soil in the river had been buried under her neck. But most people are not so lucky. The search for the dead lasted for several months, some bodies were washed 24 kilometers away, and 20 people were still missing. According to official statistics, 15 1 of the 285 people on board were killed.

The whole country was shocked by this. When the Queen of England made her first state visit and the whole country was immersed in a festive atmosphere, the biggest train tragedy in New Zealand history happened. What is puzzling is the cause of the disaster. Some people think that it is mainly caused by heavy rain or volcanic eruption, but the facts are far more bizarre than these conjectures.

35 kilometers north of Wangayihu River is Mount Ruapehu, which has two juxtaposed peaks, 2796 meters high, and is the highest peak in North Island of New Zealand. A series of volcanic eruptions occurred from 1945 to 1947. Since then, it has been silent. In local legends, it is described as an "orphan girl" who sighs all day long, and her heart is broken because she was abandoned when she fell in love and had an illegal tryst with Shan Ye. In the local Maori language, ruapehu has two meanings, namely "two" and "making a loud noise".

More than 300 meters below the top of the mountain is the volcanic lake, whose warm and acidic ditches are in sharp contrast with the top of the mountain with snow all year round. Volcanic gas keeps coming out from the bottom of the lake, stirring up a layer of yellow sulfur. Lake water is usually discharged from the tunnel under the ice wall. Since 1945, a larger and larger black magma cone has been formed in the lake due to the continuous eruption of the crater in the center of the lake. The growth of the magma cone has blocked almost all the space in the crater. Although the bottom of the lake deepened, the slag from volcanic eruption blocked the natural drain of the lake, so a new drain appeared under the ice. Because the new outlet is much smaller than before, the lake is rising, 8 meters higher than the previous water level, and the water pressure is constantly strengthening. In this case, just two hours before the train from Wellington to Auckland came to Wang Ayi Lake River, the displacement suddenly increased, and a large amount of lake water suddenly poured into Wang Ayi Lake River.

A powerful mud flow composed of water, mud, ice and stones is called Rajal. This thick mud flow containing only 30% water is mixed with volcanic ash and mud stones and rushes to the riverbed at high speed. Its momentum is great, and several cars are washed out 2-3 kilometers away.

1958 65438+The New Zealand train crash in February was mainly due to the Rajal Expressway rushing to the riverbed, and the bridge body of the railway bridge was washed away by the flood, leaving only two rails tied in the river. When the train reached the railway carriage, the carriage slipped into the flood. Imagine that if the express train had been warned in advance, the tragedy could have been avoided.

Now, New Zealand has set up an alarm system to prevent Rajal from causing huge losses again. But people will never forget this tragedy. Many people still remember the moment when the Christmas radio holiday program was cancelled in order to make time to read out the list of survivors. Now, every Christmas Eve, the train will slow down and throw wreaths into the river to mourn the victims whose lives were swallowed up by the "crying river". Never forget the past and learn from the future, which is also a correct attitude of human beings towards disasters.