Top 10 Most Expensive Accidents in History

Throughout history, humans have always been prone to accidents. The accident is evil part in the world. Some, such as the exotic car crashes seen on this blog, can be very expensive. But that's trivial compared to the truly expensive accidents. An accident is defined as "an undesirable or unfortunate happening that occurs unintentionally and usually results in harm, injury, damage, or loss". These are the top 10 most expensive accidents in the history of the world as measured in dollars.

This includes property damage and expenses incurred related to the accident. Many of these accidents involve lots of life lost is priceless and it cannot be measured in dollar terms.

10. Titanic

$150 Million

The sinking of the Titanic is possibly the most famous accident in the world. But it makes list of top 10 most expensive. On April 15, 1912, the Titanic sank and was considered to be the most luxurious ocean liner ever built. Over 1,500 people lost their lives when the ship ran into an iceberg and sunk in frigid waters. The ship cost $7 million to build ($150 million in today's dollars).

9. Tanker Truck VS Bridge

$358 Million

On August 26, 2004, a car collided with a tanker truck containing 32,000 liters of fuel on the Wiehltal Bridge in Germany. The tanker crashed through the guardrail and fell 90 feet off the A4 Autobahn resulting in a huge explosion and fire which destroyed the load-bearing ability of the bridge. Temporary repairs cost $40 million and the cost to replace the bridge is estimated at $318 Million.

8. MetroLink Crash

$500 Million

On September 12, 2008, it was the one of the worst train crashes in California history, 25 people were killed when a Metrolink commuter train crashed head-on into a Union Pacific freight train in Los Angeles. It is thought that the Metrolink train may have run through a red signal while the conductor was busy text messaging. Wrongful death lawsuits are expected to cause $500 million in losses for Metrolink.

7. B-2 Bomber Crash

$1.4 Billion

Here is the first billion dollar accident. This B-2 stealth bomber crashed shortly after taking off from an air base in Guam on February 23, 2008. Investigators blamed distorted data in the flight control computers caused by moisture in the system. This resulted in the aircraft making a sudden nose-up move which made the B-2 stall and crash. This was the most expensive aviation accident in history. Both pilots were able to eject to safety. The crash was captured on video. It shows one B-2 Bomber successfully taking off followed by the B-2 Bomber which crashes. The crash starts at 2:00

6. Exxon Valdez

$2.5 Billion

The Exxon Valdez oil spill was not a large one in world's biggest oil spills, but it was a costly one due to the remote location of Prince William Sound it is accessible only by helicopter and boat. On March 24, 1989, 10.8 million gallons of oil was spilled when the ship's master, Joseph Hazelwood, left the controls and the ship crashed into a Reef. The cleanup cost Exxon $2.5 billion.

5. Piper Alpha Oil Rig

$3.4 Billion

The world's worst off-shore oil disaster. At one time, it was the world's single largest oil producer, spewing out 317,000 barrels of oil per day. On July 6, 1988, process of routine maintenance, technicians removed and checked safety valves which were essential in preventing dangerous build-up of liquid gas. There were 100 identical safety valves which were checked. Unfortunately, the technicians made a mistake and forgot to replace one of them and it was man made mistake. At 10 PM that same night, a technician unfortunately pressed a start button for the liquid gas pumps and the world's most expensive oil rig accident was set in motion.

Within 2 hours, the 300 foot platform was engulfed in flames. It eventually collapsed, killing 167 workers and resulting in $3.4 Billion in damages.

4. Challenger Explosion

$5.5 Billion

The Space Shuttle Challenger was destroyed after 73 seconds takeoff due on January 28, 1986 due to a faulty O-ring. It failed to seal the joints and gas to reach the outside. This in turn caused the external tank to dump its payload of liquid hydrogen causing a massive explosion. The cost of replacing the Space Shuttle was $2 billion in 1986 and $4.5 billion in today's dollars. The cost of investigation, problem correction, and replacement of lost equipment cost $450 million from 1986-1987.

3. Prestige Oil Spill

$12 Billion

On November 13, 2002, the Prestige oil tanker was carrying 77,000 tons of heavy fuel oil. One of its twelve tanks burst during a storm off Galicia, Spain. Fearing that the ship would sink, the captain called for help from Spanish rescue workers, expecting them to take the ship into harbour. However, pressure from local authorities forced the captain to steer the ship away from the coast. The captain tried to get help from the French and Portuguese authorities. But they ordered the ship away from their shores. The storm eventually took its toll on the ship resulting in the tanker splitting in half and releasing 20 million gallons oil into the sea. According to a report by the Pontevedra Economist Board, the total cleanup cost $12 billion.

2. Space Shuttle Columbia

$13 Billion

The Space Shuttle Columbia was the first space worthy shuttle in NASA's. It was destroyed during re-entry over Texas on February 1, 2003 after a hole was punctured in one of the wings during launch 16 days earlier. The original cost of the shuttle was $2 Billion in 1978. That comes out to $6.3 Billion in today's dollars. $500 million was spent on the investigation, making it the costliest aircraft accident investigation in history. The search and recovery of debris cost $300 million.

In the end, the total cost of the accident not including replacement of the shuttle came out to $13 Billion according to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

1. Chernobyl

$200 Billion

On April 26, 1986, the world witnessed the costliest accident in history. The Chernobyl disaster has been called the biggest socio-economic catastrophe in peacetime history. 50% of the area of Ukraine is in some way contaminated. Over 200,000 people had to be evacuated and resettled while 1.7 million people were directly affected by the disaster. The death toll attributed to Chernobyl, including people who died from cancer years later, is estimated at 125,000. The total costs including cleanup, resettlement, and compensation to victims has been estimated to be roughly $200 Billion. The cost of a new steel shelter for the Chernobyl nuclear plant will cost $2 billion alone. The accident was officially attributed to power plant operators who violated plant procedures and were ignorant of the safety requirements needed.

History of Cricket World Cup 1975 - 2011

The 1975 Cricket World Cup

The 1975 Cricket World Cup officially called the Prudential Cup was the first edition of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) cricket world cup. It was started from 7 June to 21 June 1975 in England. The tournament was sponsored by Prudential Assurance Company and had 8 participating countries. These were the 6 Test playing teams of that time namely Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan & West Indies and Sri Lanka & East Africa. The preliminary matches were played in 2 groups of 4 each. The top two teams from each group then played the knock-out rounds of semi-finals and final.

The matches were played as 60 overs per team in traditional white clothing and with red balls. They were all played during the day and, hence, started early. England scored 334 (4 wickets, 60 overs) with Dennis Amiss (137 from 147 balls, 18 fours) scoring the first ever World Cup century, nobly supported by Keith Fletcher (68 from 107 balls, 4 fours, 1 six). The response of Gavaskar (36 from 174 balls, 1 four) was to bat through the 60 overs for 36 not out.

In the final, the West Indies beat Australia by 17 runs, after an accomplished innings from captain Clive Lloyd (102 from 85 balls, 12 fours, 2 sixes). The Australian innings was marked by top-order batsmen being run out when going for runs after misfields. A total of five of their team were run out, three by Vivian Richards. There was no 'Man of the Series' awarded in 1975.

The Prudential Cup was lifted by Clive Lloyd, captain of West Indies, who had started the tournament as the favourites.


The 1979 Cricket World Cup

The 1979 Cricket World Cup (aka Prudential World Cup, 1979) was the second edition of the tournament and was won by the West Indies. It was start from June 9 to June 23, 1979 in England. The format unchanged from 1975. Eight countries participated in the event. The preliminary matches were played in 2 groups of 4 each. The top two teams in each group played the semifinals, whose winners played the final.
The matches played consisted of 60 overs per team and were played in traditional white clothing and with red balls. They were all played during the day and hence started early.

England won the toss and chose to field first. The West Indies got off to a bad start, falling to 99/4 with the loss of Greenidge, Haynes, Kallicharan, and captain Clive Lloyd. But, Vivian Richards 138 from 157 balls, 11 fours, 3 sixes and Collis King 86 from 66 balls, 10 fours, 3 sixes consolidated the innings. The West Indies were already at 5/238 when the 139 run partnership ended with the loss of Collis King. Vivian Richards and the tail then took the West Indies to a very imposing total of 286 (9 wickets, 60 overs).

The Prudential Cup was lifted by Clive Lloyd, captain of the West Indies who started as the favorites to win the cup. There was no 'Man of the Series' awarded in 1979.


The 1983 Cricket World Cup

The 1983 Cricket World Cup also known as Prudential Cup was the third edition of the tournament. It was held from 9 June to 25 June 1983 in England and was won by India. Eight countries participated in the event. The preliminary matches were played in two groups of four teams each, and each country played the others in its group twice. The top two teams in each group qualified for the semi-finals.
The matches consisted of 60 overs per team and were played in traditional white clothing and with red balls. They were all played during the day.

The 1983 World Cup was full of dramatic cricket right from the start. Teams like India and Zimbabwe who were not playing well at those times scored upset victories over the West Indies and Australia respectively. England, Pakistan, India and tournament favorites West Indies qualified for the semifinals.

In the final, India lost the toss and were asked to bat first against a West Indies team Only Kris Srikkanth 38 from 57 balls and Mohinder Amarnath 26 from 80 balls put up against Roberts, Marshall, Joel Garner and Michael Holding ripped through the Indian batsmen, well supported by Gomes. Surprising India all out 183 (all out, 54.4 overs). However, the Indian bowling exploited the weather and pitch conditions perfectly to bowl out the best batting lineup of the era for 140 from 52 overs in return, winning by 43 runs and completing one of the most stunning upsets in cricket history, defeating the previously invincible West Indies.

Amarnath and Madan Lal (3-31) each took three wickets, and one memorable moment was the sight of Kapil Dev running a great distance about 18-20 yards to take a catch to dismiss Richards, the West Indies top scorer with 33 from 28 balls. Amarnath was the most economical bowler, conceding just 12 runs from his seven overs while taking 3 wickets, and was once again awarded the Man of the Match award for his all-round performance.There was no 'Man of the Series' awarded in 1983.


The 1987 Cricket World Cup

The 1987 Cricket World Cup it is Reliance World Cup was the fourth edition of the tournament. It was held from October 8 to November 8, 1987 in both India and Pakistan. The format was unchanged but reduces the number of overs a team played from 60 to 50. 8 countries participated in the event. The preliminary matches were played in 2 groups of 4 each in which each country played its groupmates twice. The top two teams in each group qualified for the semifinals, whose winners played the final. The matches were played with traditional white clothing and with red balls.

They were all played during the day. There was no 'Man of the Series' awarded in 1987.

The 1987 World Cup was lifted by Allan Border, captain of Australia who won against arch-rivals England by 7 runs in the most closely fought World Cup final to date in the Eden Gardens stadium in Calcutta. The other semifinalists, India and Pakistan failed to bring about an eagerly awaited India-Pakistan final. The West Indies failed to live up to expectations by not even qualifying for the semifinals (in part because of Courtney Walsh's refusal to mankad Saleem Jaffar). David Boon was man of the match.

Australia 253/5 (50 overs) v England
246/8 (50 overs) Australia won by 7 runs
Eden Gardens, Calcutta, India

Umpires: Ram Gupta and Mahboob Shah
Player of the match: David Boon David Boon 75 (125)
Eddie Hemmings 2/48 (10 overs) Bill Athey 58 (103)
Steve Waugh 2/37 (9 overs)


The 1992 Cricket World Cup

The 1992 Cricket World Cup sponsored by Benson & Hedges World Cup was the fifth edition of the tournament and was held from 22 February to 25 March 1992 in Australia and New Zealand. Sponsored by Benson and Hedges, it was won by Pakistan, who defeated England in the final.

The final will be remembered by all Pakistanis as they saw two of their greatest cricketers, Imran Khan and Javed Miandad, perform superbly as they set a target of 250, which proved too much for England to chase.

Pakistan 249/6 (50 overs) v England
227 all out (49.2 overs) Pakistan won by 22 runs
Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia

Umpires: Brian Aldridge and Steve Bucknor
Player of the match: Wasim Akram Imran Khan 72 (110 balls)
Derek Pringle 3/22 (10 overs) Neil Fairbrother 62 (70 balls)
Mushtaq Ahmed 3/41 (10 overs)


The 1996 Cricket World Cup

The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup after its official sponsors, was the sixth edition of the tournament organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was the second World Cup to be hosted by Pakistan and India, and for the first time by Sri Lanka. The tournament was won by Sri Lanka, who defeated Australia in the final at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.

Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to field. Mark Taylor 74 from 83 balls, 8 fours, 1 six and Ricky Ponting 45 from 73 balls, 2 fours shared a second-wicket partnership of 101 runs. When Ponting and Taylor were dismissed, however, Australia fell from 1/137 to 5/170 as the famed 4-pronged spin attack of Sri Lanka took its toll. Despite the slump, Australia struggled on to 241 (7 wickets, 50 overs)
Australia

241/7 (50 overs) v Sri Lanka
245/3 (46.2 overs) Sri Lanka won by 7 wickets
Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan

Umpires: Steve Bucknor and David Shepherd
Player of the match: Aravinda de Silva Mark Taylor 74 (83)
Aravinda de Silva 3/42 (9 overs) Aravinda de Silva 107 (124)
Damien Fleming 1/43 (6 overs)


The 1999 Cricket World Cup

The 1999 Cricket World Cup, the seventh edition of the tournament, was hosted primarily by England, but Ireland, Wales, Scotland and the Netherlands also hosted some games. The World Cup was won by Australia, who beat Pakistan by 8 wickets at Lord's Cricket Ground in London. New Zealand and South Africa were the other semifinalists.

The format of the world cup was as follows: The 12 contestants were divided into 2 groups, in each of which teams played each other in the league stage. The top three from each group advanced to the Super Sixes, a new concept brought about in this World Cup, where each qualifier from group A played with each qualifier from group B. The teams also carried forward their points from games against each qualifer from their group. The top four in the Super Sixes contested the semifinals.

Pakistan132 (39 overs) v Australia
133/2 (20.1 overs) Australia won by 8 wickets
Lord's, London, England

Umpires: Steve Bucknor (WI) and David Shepherd (ENG)
Player of the match: Shane Warne (AUS) Ijaz Ahmed 22 (46)
Shane Warne 33/4 (9 overs) Adam Gilchrist 54 (36)
Saqlain Mushtaq 21/1 (4.1 overs)


The 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup

The 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup was the eighth Cricket World Cup and was played in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya from 9 February to 24 March. 2003 was the first time that the Cricket World Cup conducted in Africa. The tournament featured 14 teams and 54 matches, the most in the tournament history up to that time. The tournament followed the format introduced in the 1999 Cricket World Cup with the teams divided into 2 groups, and the top three in each group qualifying for the Super Sixes stage.

The tournament saw upsets in the first round with South Africa, Pakistan, West Indies and England failing to make it to Super Sixes stage while Zimbabwe and Kenya made it to Super Sixes stage and Kenya, a non-Test playing nation, made the semi-finals of the tournament.

Australian star player Shane Warne was sent home from the cup in embarrassing situation, only the day before their opening game, after a positive doping test in a lead-up competition in Australia revealed that he had taken a banned diuretic. The leg spinner claimed that he had taken a 'fluid pill' on the advice of his mother.

The tournament was won by Ricky Ponting's Australia who defeated India Sourav Ganguly's India in the final.

Australia 359/2 (50 overs) v India
234 (39.1 overs) Australia won by 125 runs
Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa


The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup

The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the tournament and took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sport's One Day International format. There were a total of 51 matches played.

The 16 competing teams were initially divided into four groups, with the two best-performing teams from each group moving on to a "Super 8" format. From this, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and South Africa won through to the semi-finals, with Australia defeating Sri Lanka in the final to win their third consecutive World Cup. Australia's unbeaten record in the tournament increased their total to 29 consecutive World Cup matches without loss, a streak dating back to 23 May 1999, during the group stage of the 1999 World Cup.

Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer was found dead on 18 March 2007, one day after his team's defeat to Ireland put them out of the running for the World Cup. Jamaican police performed an autopsy which was deemed inconclusive.

Australia 281/4 (38 overs) v Sri Lanka 215/8 (36 overs)
Australia won by 53 runs (DL)
Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.

The tournament the ICC distributed surplus tournament revenues of USD 239 million to its members.


The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup

The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup is the tenth Cricket World Cup and is being hosted by three South Asian Test cricket playing countries: India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It will be Bangladesh's first time co-hosting a Cricket World Cup. The World Cup will take place between February and early April 2011, with the first match played on 19 February 2011 with co-hosts India and Bangladesh facing off at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka. The opening ceremony was held on 17 February 2011 at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, two days before the start of the tournament, with the final on 2 April 2011 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

The World Cup was also supposed to be co-hosted by Pakistan, but in the wake of the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team in Lahore, the International Cricket Council (ICC) decided to take Pakistan of its hosting rights.

The headquarters of the organising committee were originally situated in Lahore, but have now been shifted to Mumbai. Pakistan was supposed to hold 14 matches, including one semi-final. Eight of Pakistan's matches were atransfered to India, four to Sri Lanka and two to Bangladesh.


TME TABLE - 2011 World Cup