Events That Shocked Nations Trivia Quiz

Answer: Aberfan

On the 21st October 1966 the community in South Wales was devastated when a slagheap (a huge pile of mining debris) collapsed, slid down a hillside and destroyed the village of Aberfan, including the village school. 116 of the dead were schoolchildren.

Answer: Lockerbie

On route to JFK, New York, the Boeing 747 was destroyed by an explosion (later found to be the result of a bomb). The plane crashed into the village of Lockerbie killing all 243 passengers, 16 crew and a further 11 on the ground.

Answer: India

This catastrophe happened at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. The plant was operated by Union Carbide. The official immediate death toll was 2,259 and the government later confirmed that a total of 3,787 deaths related to the explosion and exposure to the toxic gases released.

Answer: Chernobyl

On April 26, 1986 reactor number four at the Chernobyl plant, near Pripyat in the then Soviet Socialist Republic of Ukraine, exploded. The event resulted in a severe release of radioactivity following the destruction of one of the reactors. This caused more fallout than had been released by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Sadly, most fatalities from the accident were caused by radiation poisoning. It has been impossible to determine the final number of deaths directly related to this tragedy.

Answer: Indian

This was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, The Maldives, India and Thailand were the countries most affected. It has been estimated that waves of up to 30 metres (100 feet) in height were generated.

Answer: Apollo 13

Apollo mission 11 landed on the moon and returned safely. Apollo mission 1 was a disaster with three astronauts dying on the launch pad. Apollo mission 17 was the last of the manned moonshots; it was a success. Apollo 13 suffered an explosion between the earth and the moon and had to return with limited power and oxygen supplies. Jim Lovell was the mission commander.

Answer: Paddington

At around 8.00am, a three-car diesel train, operated by Thames Trains collided with a First Great Western High Speed Train at Ladbroke Grove Junction, about two miles (3 km) west of the terminus at London Paddington station. The trains collided almost head-on with a combined closing speed close to 130 mph (210 km/h).

Although the number of fatalities was mercifully low, a further 227 were treated for serious injury and 296 for minor wounds.

Answer: The Hindenburg

The disaster took place on Thursday 6 May 1937 as the Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed while attempting to dock with its mooring mast at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station. Of the 97 people on board, 35 people died. There was one fatality on the ground. To this day no-one has established the actual cause of the fire aboard The Hindenburg although theories range from sabotage to static electricity.

Answer: Pompeii and Herculaneum

It is estimated that between 10,000 and 25,000 people perished following this huge eruption of Europe's only, mainland, active volcano. Vesuvius last erupted in 1944 but to a much lesser degree than the AD79 event.

Answer: Potato

The Potato Famine changed Ireland in many a way. As well as the death toll, another million people were forced/chose to emigrate. It is estimated that the nation's population dropped by over 20% during the famine. The failure was caused by a new disease, known as blight (Phytophthora Infestans) which arrived in Ireland from mainland Europe.