The Russian Train Disaster. Experience of the British and Irish Relief Teams

Abstract

On 4 June, 1989, in a remote part of the Urals, two trains loaded mainly with children and adolescents were involved in a catastrophic explosion. About one kilometre away from the railway line a pipeline of liquified gas had leaked. The fluid had run down and settled in a shallow, marshy hollow through the middle of which ran the railway line. One train had been delayed by two hours because a young woman passenger had unexpectedly given birth. By a terrible coincidence, the two trains crossed in the precise area where the liquified gas had accumulated. In the ensuing explosion the trees were stripped of all bark and foliage; there was an intense flash and the force of the explosion shattered windows 15 kilometres away. Survivors trying to escape were trapped by the marshy terrain and many were incinerated. It was approximately 16 hours until help arrived and evacuation started. The physical circumstances of the injuring force, the delay, the numbers, and ages of the patients involved, and human impact added up to a disaster that commanded the utmost sympathy from all of us. Those of us who have been involved in disasters know that apart from caring for the patients, the staff looking after them (often with social ties of friendship or family relationship) also need support.