The 2012 Buenos Aires rail disaster, also known as the Once Tragedy, occurred on 22 February 2012, when a train crashed at Once Station (Spanish: Estación Once de Septiembre; IPA: [ˈonse]) in the Balvanera neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
There were about 1,000 passengers on board when the crowded eight-carriage train, whose working brakes were not activated, hit the buffers at the end of the line, crushing the motor carriage and the following two carriages, after approaching the station at a speed of 26 km/h (16 mph). Fifty-one people were killed and more than 700 were injured; the dead and seriously injured were in the first two carriages, which were packed with people who had moved to the front of the train to be near the station exit on arrival.
The Sarmiento Line, on which the incident occurred, was operated by Trenes de Buenos Aires (TBA), owned by the Cirigliano brothers. It was the second fatal accident on the line within six months, following the 2011 Flores rail crash, and the third-deadliest train accident in Argentina's history, after the Benavídez rail disaster in 1970 (which left 142 dead and 368 injured) and the Sa Pereira rail disaster in 1978 (which left 55 dead).
2012Feb, 22
A train crash in Buenos Aires, Argentina, kills 51 people and injures 700 others.
Choose Another Date
Events on 2012
- 13Jan
Costa Concordia disaster
The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off the coast of Italy due to the captain's negligence and irresponsibility. There are 32 confirmed deaths. - 2Jun
2011 Egyptian revolution
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the killing of demonstrators during the 2011 Egyptian revolution. - 19Jun
Julian Assange
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange requested asylum in London's Ecuadorian Embassy for fear of extradition to the US after publication of previously classified documents including footage of civilian killings by the US army. - 11Sep
2012 Benghazi attack
The U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya is attacked, resulting in four deaths. - 23Oct
Digital switchover
After 38 years, the world's first teletext service (BBC's Ceefax) ceases broadcast due to Northern Ireland completing the digital switchover.