Ongarue railway disaster
| Ongarue railway disaster | |
|---|---|
Derailed locomotive | |
| Details | |
| Date | 6 July 1923 05:52 NZST |
| Location | Ongarue, North Island |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Line | North Island Main Trunk Railway |
| Operator | New Zealand Railways Department |
| Incident type | Derailment |
| Cause | Struck landslip in which was embedded a large boulder |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 1 |
| Passengers | 200 |
| Deaths | 17 |
The Ongarue railway disaster occurred on 6 July 1923 near the small settlement of Ongarue, near Taumarunui, North Island, New Zealand, when an overnight express ran into a landslip. Of the 200 passengers on board, 17 died and 28 were injured. The disaster marked the first major loss of life in New Zealand railway history; the Christchurch Press noted that each of the previous fatal railway accidents had resulted in no greater loss of life than that resulting from an overturned motor car.
The Ongarue disaster remains the third worst railway accident in New Zealand's history. Almost exactly twenty years later on 4 June 1943, its death toll was surpassed in the Hyde railway disaster, which claimed 21 lives. Ten years after that, 151 died in the Tangiwai disaster.