List of disasters in Great Britain and Ireland by death toll


The following list of disasters in Great Britain and Ireland is a list of major disasters which relate to the United Kingdom or Ireland, or to the states that preceded them, or that involved their citizens, in a definable incident or accident such as a shipwreck, where the loss of life was forty or more.

Over 200 fatalities

100–199 fatalities

Deaths in
Italics indicate an
estimated figure
EventYearNotes
193MS Herald of Free Enterprise1987 Ferry capsized off Zeebrugge in under one minute after its RORO bow doors were left open. Unlawful killing verdict.
192Transport ship Dispatch and Brig-of-War HMS Primrose1809 Both ships sank after hitting The Manacles.
191SS City of Boston 1870 Ship out of New York City and Halifax, Nova Scotia disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean. Possibly struck an iceberg.
189Lundhill Colliery explosion1857 Colliery disaster, Wombwell, Yorkshire.
189Wood Pit Colliery explosion1878 Colliery disaster, Haydock, Lancashire. The total fatalities, which included one man and all of his five sons, may have been 204 or more.
189HMS Orpheus1863 Sank off Auckland due to outdated nautical charts and shortcuts.
189Eyemouth Disaster1881 Local fishing fleet sank during a European Windstorm that struck the southeast coast of Scotland.
186Theatre Royal, Exeter1887 Fire caused by gas lights.
183Victoria Hall disaster1883 Stampede at Sunderland after a children's Variety show to get prizes and gifts resulted in compressive asphyxia and trampling.
179SS Cambria1870 Shipwrecked at Inishtrahull.
178United Kingdom BSE outbreak1996–2001Variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease outbreak in the UK. Known colloquially as "mad cow disease", victims contracted the disease through eating infected beef.
178Ferndale Colliery disaster1867 Mining disaster in the Rhondda Valley, Glamorganshire, caused by gas accumulation and miners tampering with safety lamps.
178Ocean Monarch1848 Shipwreck and fire off Great Orme, Llandudno caused by steerage passengers' smoking materials.
178Clifton Hall Colliery explosion1885 Explosion of firedamp gas in a colliery at Salford.
176Turkish Airlines Flight 9811974 Crashed in the Ermenonville Forest, France due to cargo door design flaw. The flight was headed to London Heathrow and most of the passengers were British.
176Llannerch, Cwmnantddu1890 Colliery gas explosion near Pontypool, Monmouthshire after the mine refused safety lamps by its MD two months earlier.
173Bethnal Green tube station panic1943 Crowd stampede caused by British anti-aircraft battery salvo.
172HMS Serpent1890 Royal Navy torpedo cruiser launched in 1887 shipwrecked off Camariñas, Galicia.
168Burns Pit Disaster1909 Mining disaster at Stanley, County Durham.
167Piper Alpha1988 Oil platform gas leak, explosion and fire 30m above cold seas in the North Sea.
166Bombing of underground shelter at Edge Hill, Liverpool1940 Direct hit on the shelter at Durning Road during the Liverpool Blitz of World War 2.
164Seaham Colliery accident1880 Mining accident at Seaham, County Durham.
163The John Bodkin Adams murders1946–1956Though controversially acquitted in court for the murder of a patient in 1957, Doctor John Bodkin Adams is widely suspected to have murdered around 163 of his patients over 10 years.
1601991 London smog1991
157Deutschland1875 Shipwrecked during a blizzard on Kentish Knock sandbank, Thames Estuary. Tugboat rescue delayed until the next day, most died of hypothermia.
155Minnie Pit disaster1918 Mining disaster at Podmore Hall, Halmer End, Staffordshire.
150Clifford's Tower fire massacre1190 Massacre of Jews in York by a mob.
146Risca Blackvein Disaster1860 Coal mining disaster at Risca, Monmouthshire caused by a gas explosion.
146Dan-Air Flight 10081980 Air traffic control instructed the plane to fly an unpublished holding pattern, which led the plane into the dangerously high terrain of Mount Esperanza, Tenerife.
146Aberfan disaster1966 Coal-waste spoil tip collapsed onto a junior school, Glamorganshire.
143Swaithe Main Colliery disaster1875 Mining disaster at Worsbrough, Yorkshire.
141SS Berlin1907 Great Eastern Railway steamship out of Harwich wrecked off Hook of Holland.
140RMS Amazon1852 Steam engine of a wooden mail paddle steamer caught fire, 60 miles west of Isles of Scilly.
140HMS Condor1901 Ship lost with all hands in a gale off Vancouver Island.
1402004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami2004 UK victims only; see Countries affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
139George III1835 Convict ship wrecked in D'Entrecasteaux Channel, Tasmania.
139Combs Pit disaster1893 Mining disaster at Thornhill, Yorkshire.
137National Shell Filling Factory explosion1918 Munitions explosion at Chilwell in Nottinghamshire. Eight tons of TNT exploded.
136Wellington Colliery disaster1910 Coal mining disaster at Whitehaven, Cumberland.
135Alexander1815 Ship out of Bombay wrecked near Portland within sight of shore. The ship was caught in a gale and ran aground at night.
135Fifth cholera pandemic1893The last outbreak of cholera in Britain took place in 1893.
1331833 Convict ship from Woolwich to Australia wrecked off Boulogne.
133MV Princess Victoria1953 Early roll-on/roll-off ferry disaster in the North Channel during a storm.
131Lincoln typhoid fever epidemic1904 – 1905
130Rothsay Castle1831 Paddle steamer from Liverpool shipwrecked in the Menai Strait under the command of a drunken captain.
129John Franklin's Northwest Passage expedition1845–1848HMS Erebus and HMS Terror caught in pack ice; the crews endured botulism, lead poisoning and cannibalism before starvation.
128TSMS Lakonia1963 Caught fire and sank off Madeira. Resulted in 98 passenger deaths, plus 33 crew fatalities.
128HMS Gladiator1908 Shipwrecked in a collision with an American steamship during a snowstorm, Isle of Wight.
125HMS Primrose1809 Shipwrecked on The Manacles, Cornwall.
125SS Hilda1905 London and South Western Railway steamship wrecked in snow squalls off Saint-Malo.
124BOAC Flight 9111966 Aircraft broke up in flight near Mount Fuji, Japan. A significant percentage of the fatalities were American and Japanese citizens.
124SS Daphne1883 Capsized during her ship naming and launching, River Clyde, Glasgow.
123Ocean Queen1856 Clipper ship out of London disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean.
121Dunbar1857 Clipper out of Plymouth wrecked at Sydney Cove, Australia.
120New Risca pit explosion1880 Coal mining disaster, Risca, Monmouthshire.
120+Bibighar Massacre1857 Massacre of European women and children at Cawnpore, India during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
119National Colliery explosion1905 Coal mine explosion at Wattstown, Rhondda Valley, Glamorganshire.
118British European Airways Flight 5481972 Crashed into a field at Staines. Possible heart attack in the pilot after takeoff.
114Cymmer Colliery explosion1856 Coal mine explosion at Cymmer, Porth, Glamorganshire.
112SS Stella1899 London and South Western Railway steamship wrecked on a granite reef in fog at full speed, sinking in 8 minutes, at the Casquets, Channel Islands.
112Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash1952 Three trains collided in patchy fog in morning rush hour. Death toll second only to Quintinshill rail crash.
112Dan-Air Flight 19031970 De Havilland Comet crashed into a mountain in Catalonia, Spain.
111Caledonian Airways Flight 1531962 Crashed after take-off from Douala, Cameroon.
110Parc Slip Colliery gas explosion1892 Gas explosion due to a damaged Davy lamp, Tondu, Glamorganshire.
109Faversham gunpowder mill explosion1916
108Invicta International Airlines Flight 4351973 Crashed into a forested, snowy hillside near Hochwald, Switzerland.
106SS Avalanche1877 Ship out of London for Wellington, New Zealand, collided with Forest Queen off Isle of Portland, English Channel. Both sank.
106SS Mohegan1898 Shipwrecked off The Manacles, Cornwall.
104William Pit disaster1947 Coal mining disaster at Whitehaven, Cumberland.
104HMS Brazen1800 Shipwrecked off Newhaven, Sussex.
102Pelican1793 Sank in the River Mersey.
102HMS Feversham1711 Shipwrecked off Scatarie Island, Louisbourg, Nova Scotia.
101Naval Steam Colliery explosion1880 Colliery explosion, Tonypandy, Rhondda Valley. 4 bodies unidentified.
100+1748 Wrecked on the Seven Stones reef.
100 to 240Windscale fire1957 One of the world's worst nuclear accidents. Radioactive material released, causing many local cancer deaths in the long term. Number of deaths disputed.
100"Battle" of May Island1918 Two Royal Navy submarines sunk after collisions during naval exercise.
100Moray Firth fishing disaster1848 Open hulled fishing fleet storm disaster.
100HMS Confiance1822 36-gun, 393 ton brig sloop was wrecked between Mizen Head and Three Castles Head, at the south-westernmost point of Ireland.

Fewer than 100 fatalities

Deaths
Italics indicate an
estimated figure
EventYearNotes
99Meikle Ferry disaster1809 Dornoch Firth, Scotland. Over-laden ferryboat sank with the loss of 99 lives.
99HMS Thetis submarine disaster1939 Flooded through torpedo tube during pre-war sea trials, Liverpool Bay, salvaged but sunk by depth charges with all hands in 1943
98Edmond 1850 A chartered passenger sailing vessel sunk at Edmond Point in Kilkee, Co. Clare; of the 216 on board, 98 drown
98Britannia Airways Flight 1051966 Britannia Airways Bristol Britannia G-ANBB from London Luton Airport, aircrash at Ljubljana
96Hillsborough Stadium Disaster1989
95Haswell Colliery explosion1844
95Blackfriars Disaster, also known as the "Fatal Vespers"1623
94Carlingford Lough disaster1916 SS Connemara and a coalship SS Retriever collided and sank, Carlingford Lough, County Down
93St Scholastica riot, Oxford1355 A Town and gown dispute over beer escalates over three days
92Felling mine disaster, County Durham1812 Firedamp explosion ushers in safety lamps by George Stephenson and Humphry Davy
91Carrick-on-Suir disaster1799 Barge capsize
90Lewisham rail crash1957 Railway signals missed in the rush hour fog
88Armagh rail disaster1889 10 runaway railway passenger cars on a Sunday School day trip
88Cadeby Coal mine disaster1912 Cadeby, South Yorkshire
88Air Ferry aircrash,1967 Douglas C-54 G-APYK, from Kent International Airport, Mont Canigou, France,
87Morfa Mine, Port Talbot1890 Glamorganshire, Colliery gas explosion,
86SS Egypt1922 Shipwreck, off Ushant, Brittany
85Rohilla1914 Ran aground off Whitby, with a survivor of the sinking of the two years earlier rescued again
84British Eagle1964 International Airlines aircrash Bristol Britannia G-AOVO from London Heathrow Airport, Innsbruck, Austria,
84Paisley canal disaster1810 canal pleasure boat capsize, Paisley, Scotland,
83East Side pit, Senghenydd1901 Glamorganshire, Colliery gas explosion, precursor to the 1913 disaster
81Mardy Colliery, Rhondda Valley1885 Glamorganshire, mining disaster,
81Easington Colliery1951 County Durham, coal mine explosion,
81Holmfirth Flood1852 Bilberry Reservoir collapsed, Holme Valley, West Yorkshire,
80+PS Queen Victoria1853 Wrecked below a lighthouse in a night-time snowstorm, off Howth Head, Dublin
80PS Pacific1856 lost at sea out of Liverpool,
80Llandow air disaster1950 Fairflight Avro Tudor G-AKBY, Sigginstone, Glamorganshire, with returning Welsh Rugby Union supporters on board '
80Creswell Colliery1950 mining accident caused by smoke inhalation, Creswell, Derbyshire,
79Great Yarmouth Suspension bridge1846 collapse above a river, killing children watching a clown.
79British Admiral out of Liverpool wrecked off Tasmania1874
79HMS Glatton1918 Wrecked by accidental explosion, Dover harbour
79Markham Colliery disaster1938 Underground explosion Derbyshire
78Burwell, Cambridgeshire Barn fire1727 Occurred during a puppet show with the doors nailed shut.
77The Cherubim and Ocean Home collided off Lizard Point1856
77The Diglake Colliery Disaster1895 Inrush of water into Diglake Colliery
76Third plague pandemic1896–1926Series of outbreaks across Britain and Ireland as part of a pandemic, with Glasgow and Suffolk being particularly badly affected. The last death of plague in Britain occurred in 1926.
75Maypole Colliery disaster1908 Abram, Lancashire
75Tay Bridge disaster1879 cast iron bridge collapse with a steam train on it during an evening storm, Dundee,
75HMS Affray1951 Mysterious submarine disaster, English Channel,
75STV Royston Grange1972 A Houlder Line cargo liner, destroyed by fire after a collision with Liberian-registered tanker Tien Chee in the Rio de la Plata,
74SS Naronic1893 Lost at sea, possibly due to iceberg strike off Nova Scotia, out of Liverpool, with no Wireless Telegraph to make a distress call.
74Trimdon Grange Colliery mining disaster1882
73Udston mining disaster1887 Hamilton, Scotland, firedamp explosion
73Silvertown explosion1917 Explosion in a TNT factory in West Ham
72Stockport Air Disaster1967 British Midland Airways Argonaut G-ALHG, an unrecognised flaw in the fuel system made the plane returning from Majorca uncontrollable.
72Grenfell Tower fire2017 North Kensington, London.
71Glen Cinema Disaster1929 Paisley, Scotland.
70+1900 English beer poisoning19006,000 people poisoned by consuming arsenic-tainted beer, with Manchester being the worst affected area.
70Great Gale of 18711871 Bridlington 100 shipwrecks, incl. Royal National Lifeboat Harbinger, plus other losses at sea, estimated total of 70 marine fatalities.
70RAF Fauld1944 munitions explosion during World War II, Staffordshire,
69HMS M11925 Submarine wreck— collision with Swedish surface vessel—off Plymouth,
67September 11, 2001 attacks2001 '
66BEA Comet G-ARCO bombing1967 Off Rhodes, '
66Ibrox disaster1971 compressive asphyxia spectator crush on stairway at Ibrox Park football stadium, Glasgow
65Theatre Royal, Dunlop Street, Glasgow1849 Panic ensuing from a false fire alarm.
65Cherokee class brig-sloop HMS Jasper1817 Wrecked in hurricane-force winds on either Rame Head, Cornwall or Bear's Head, Mount Batten, Devon
64Middle Duffryn Mine1852 Aberdare, Glamorganshire, Colliery explosion
64Masbrough boat disaster1841 Rotherham,
64HMS Truculent1950 Submarine collision on the surface, Thames Estuary, survivors died of hypothermia on mid-winter mudbanks
63British Airways Flight 4761976 Mid-air collision with Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 550 above Zagreb. Caused by ATC error.
63Peckfield Colliery Disaster1896 Micklefield, Yorkshire
63Victoria coal pit, Nitshill near Glasgow1851 Explosion
63Great Western Mine1893 Rhondda Valley Colliery mining disaster, South Wales,
63BEA Flight 706 aircrash1971 A Vickers Vanguard G-APEC flight 706, Aarsele, Belgium,
63Mauricewood Colliery disaster1886 underground fire, Penicuik
62Dinas Rhondda1879Rhondda Valley, Glamorganshire, Colliery gas explosion.
62PS Comet II1825 Sank in collision off Gourock, Scotland
61SS Thames1841 Steamship shipwrecked in a night-time storm, Isles of Scilly
61Freckleton Air Disaster1944 A USAAF Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber crashed into a village school in a storm, Freckleton, Lancashire,
60Garland of Topsham1649 A vessel carrying Charles I wrecked on Godrevy Island.
60+Harwich ferry disaster1807 A 'grossly overladen' coastal vessel capsizes while transporting soldiers and their families,
60Dalhousie, "Blackwall Frigate"1853Sinks off Beachy Head
60HMS M2 British M class submarine1932 Floods through her Parnall Peto seaplane hangar doors, Lyme Bay
58Wharncliffe Woodmoor Colliery1936 A pit disaster, underground explosion caused by an electrical fault
57Tylorstown1896 Rhondda Valley Colliery mining disaster, South Wales
57Sneyd Colliery Disaster1942 Burslem, Staffordshire
57HMS K51921 A submarine sank in deep water, 120 miles south-west of the Isles of Scilly during sea trials
56Bradford City stadium fire1985 football stadium fire
567 July 2005 London bombings2005 by suicide bombers
55Manchester air disaster1985 Flight 28M, a Boeing 737-236 engine fire before takeoff on a holiday flight to Corfu
54Newlands Mill chimney collapse, Bradford1882 54, mostly young girls and boys, are crushed.
53Ferndale Colliery1869 Rhondda Valley, Glamorganshire, Colliery explosion,
53Great fire of Newcastle and Gateshead1854 A Victorian-era firestorm.
52Lletty Shenklin Mine1849 Aberdare Colliery mining disaster, South Wales
52Yellow fever outbreak, 1861 West Indies,
52Loch Ard1878 A clipper out of Gravesend, Kent, wrecked off Loch Ard Gorge, just off the Shipwreck Coast of Victoria, Australia in thick fog
52HMS Wasp1884 Wrecked on Tory Island, County Donegal
52Marine Colliery1927 Gwm near Ebbw Vale, Monmouthshire, coal mine disaster
51Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum fire, London1903 In an early psychiatric hospital holding up to 3,500 patients
51Marchioness disaster, River Thames1989 A pleasure boat rammed by a dredger under a bridge.
51St Hilda Colliery, South Shields, coal pit explosion1839 http://www.dmm.org.uk/names/n1839-01.htm
50+Winter of 1962–631962–63One of the coldest winters on record in the United Kingdom. The river Thames froze solid.
50Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 aircrash1969 Crashed into a house, Boeing 727 YA-FAR, Gatwick
50Summerland fire disaster1973 Douglas, Isle of Man, a fire in a leisure centre
50Whiddy Island disaster1979 explosion of oil tanker Betelguese in Bantry Bay, Ireland
49?SS Nile1854 All the crew and passengers died when she hit The Stones reef off Godrevy Head, Cornwall. The loss of life led to the building of the lighthouse.
49Booth's clothing factory fire, Huddersfield1941 Fire at a major clothing factory in Huddersfield, West Riding of Yorkshire.
49HMS Punjabi collision with the battleship 1942 sinking 469 miles north-west of Shetland.
49Hither Green rail crash1967 In London, a broken rail caused derailment of an express train
48Stardust fire1981 A nightclub fire in Artane, Dublin, 841 people had attended a disco there, of whom 48 died and 214 were injured as a result of the fire.
48A British Eagle International Airlines Vickers Viscount1968 en route from London to Innsbruck, Austria, breaks up in mid-air over Bavaria
47Burns' Day Storm1990 Violent storm that started on Burns' day and affected north-western Europe, hurricane-force winds in some areas.
47'1828 Capsizes after launching, Mersey and Irwell Navigation, Manchester
47Gethin Mine1862 Merthyr Tydfil, Colliery mining disaster, South Wales
47R101 airship crash1930 Beauvais, France
471973 Nantes mid-air collision1973 Two aircraft heading to London Heathrow collide due to ATC error.
47SS Samtampa1947wrecked off Sker Point in the Bristol Channel
47Auchengeich coal mining disaster1959 Auchinloch, Lanarkshire, Scotland
47Kegworth Air Disaster1989 British Midland Flight 92, Leicestershire, the pilot shuts down the wrong engine and just misses the M1 Motorway
46Wreck of Confederate States of America blockade runner PS Lelia1865 and lifeboat crew in Liverpool Bay
45Bentley Coal mine disaster1931 Bentley, South Yorkshire
45Six Bells Colliery Disaster1960 Aberbeeg, Monmouthshire
45Aquila Airways Short Solent flying boat crash1957 Isle of Wight
45Sumburgh disaster1986 A Brent oilfield CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed at sea
45PS Nimrod1860 An Irish paddle steamer that sank off St David's Head.
45Cleggan Bay Disaster1927 A Strong gale killed 45 fishermen off the coast of County Galway..
44R38 airship crash1921 River Humber, near Hull
44MV Derbyshire1980 Bibby Line bulk carrier sank during Typhoon Orchid, south of Japan
43Bourne End rail crash1945 Near Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, driver had worked for 26 consecutive days.
43Moorgate tube crash1975 London Underground, in the morning rush hour
43Croydon typhoid outbreak of 19371937 Outbreak originating from a polluted chalk water well; 341 cases.
41Little Baldon Hastings accident1965 Occurred at Little Baldon, Oxfordshire, aircraft crash during parachute training flight from RAF Abingdon, caused by metal fatigue
40Garden Pit Disaster1844 40 men and boys are crushed or drowned when water from the River Cleddau broke through the roof of their coalmine at Landshipping, Pembrokeshire, Wales.
40Regent's Park ice-skating disaster1867 Ice covering the boating lake collapsed and 200 people plunged into the lake
40Low Moor Explosion1916 Explosion at a picric acid plant producing explosives for the war effort in the First World War.