ABSTRACT
Zeebrugge, Hillsborough, Lockerbie-now familiar names because disasters occurred there, places where a large number of people died at the same time from a common cause. Two hundred and seventy people died at Lockerbie when a Pan-Am aeroplane was blown up; one hundred and eighty-nine died off Zeebrugge when a car ferry capsized; fifty-three died at Bradford when a football stand caught fire; ninetyfive died at Hillsborough when they were crushed against the perimeter fence of a football field; thirty-one died at King’s Cross when a fire engulfed an underground station; and thirty-five at Clapham when faulty signalling caused a rail collision. One hundred and sixty-seven died when the Piper Alpha oil platform exploded in the North Sea; fortyseven died when a brand new Boeing 737 crashed at Kegworth; and, most recently, fifty-one died when The Marchioness pleasure cruiser was overrun by a dredger on the Thames.1
