Tangiwai disaster
The Tangiwai disaster was the worst rail accident in New Zealand history. It occurred on December 24, 1953 when the express train between Auckland and Wellington passed over the Tangiwai Bridge. The bridge, which had just minutes earlier been weakened by a lahar from Mount Ruapehu, collapsed sending the train into the Whangaehu River.Of the 285 people on the train that night, 134 survived and 151 died. Of those that died 20 bodies were never recovered, it is believed they were washed out to sea.
