March 13
2020
Killing of Breonna Taylor
The fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor by Louisville police during a late-night raid on March 13, 2020, became a national catalyst for protest, debate, and reform regarding policing, race, and accountability in the United States. Read more
2012
Sierre Coach Crash
The Sierre coach crash was a devastating bus accident on March 13, 2012, in a Swiss motorway tunnel. It claimed the lives of 28 people—22 of them schoolchildren—returning from a Belgian school ski trip, becoming one of Europe's deadliest road disasters of the 21st century. The cause remains officially inconclusive. Read more
1961
The Kurenivka Mudslide
On March 13, 1961, a catastrophic collapse of a dam containing industrial waste in Kyiv’s Kurenivka district unleashed a deadly mudslide, devastating a residential neighborhood and claiming scores of lives. The disaster, rooted in years of neglect and secrecy, was hastily covered up by Soviet authorities, leaving the true toll concealed for decades. Read more
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Explore more events in March
Mar 5
Palair Macedonian Airlines Flight 301 Crash
A tragic aviation disaster involving inadequate de-icing procedures that led to the crash of Palair Macedonian Airlines Flight 301, resulting in significant loss of life.
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Mar 16
The Amoco Cadiz Oil Spill
In March 1978, the supertanker Amoco Cadiz ran aground off the coast of Brittany, France, releasing its entire cargo of crude oil into the sea. The resulting spill was, at the time, the world’s largest, devastating 200 miles of pristine coastline, killing tens of thousands of seabirds, and transforming approaches to tanker safety and spill response worldwide.
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Mar 27
Tenerife Airport Disaster
On March 27, 1977, two Boeing 747 passenger jets—flights operated by KLM and Pan Am—collided on a fog-shrouded runway at Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife. With 583 lives lost, it remains the deadliest aviation disaster in history. The crash, set against a backdrop of crowded ramps, miscommunications, and a chilling lack of visibility, transformed the way the world thinks about cockpit protocol, air traffic control, and the fragile choreography of flight.
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