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Tragedy

This Month

The Strait of Hormuz is a key shipping route but is under threat from the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Two oil tankers collide and catch fire near Strait of Hormuz

The incident adds to anxiety around the crucial shipping route as Iran and Israel hit each other with missiles.

Relatives of the plane crash victims wait for the bodies of their loved ones outside a hospital mortuary in Ahmedabad, India.

India ramps up inspections of Boeing 787s after fatal crash

The checks are performed as the jets return to the south Asian country before being cleared for their next flights.

Air India crash

‘No idea how I survived’: Briton tells of Air India crash

A 40-year-old passenger appears to have been the sole survivor among the 242 people on board the Dreamliner that crashed shortly after take off.

The tail of the Air India plane is seen sticking out of a building in

‘Mayday, no thrust, losing power’: Air India flight’s final seconds

Investigators will pore over footage of the plane appearing to suffer a catastrophic loss of lift that could have been a mechanical, electrical or external fault.

Salvage crews work near the wreckage site in the Potomac River of a mid-air collision between an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter in early February.

2025 is now the deadliest for air travel in years

The crash of Air India Flight 171 has turned 2025 into one of the most fatal years in the past decade for civil aviation.

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Sole plane survivor Viswash Kumar Ramesh walks on the street after fleeing the wreckage.

Dazed sole survivor wanders street clutching boarding pass

“When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran,” sole crash survivor Vishwash Kumar Ramesh said from his hospital bed.

A screengrab from Servus TV in Austria shows emergency services at the scene of a school shooting in Graz.

Former pupil kills 10 in Austrian school shooting

Police said the gunman entered a school in Graz and opened fire on students and teachers. He was later found dead in a bathroom.

May

A ship hits the Brooklyn Bridge.

Two dead as Mexican Navy training ship hits Brooklyn Bridge

At least 19 people were injured and taken to hospitals. New York mayor Eric Adams said in a social media post after midnight that two had died and two were critical.

UN aviation body sides with Australia over Russia’s role in MH17

The Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation has ruled that Moscow was responsible for the downing of a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine in 2014.

March

A building under construction in Bangkok collapses after an earthquake on Friday.

Earthquake rocks Myanmar and Thailand, Bangkok high-rise collapses

The 7.7 magnitude quake struck on Friday with an epicentre near Mandalay. The death toll has risen to nearly 700 and one agency says it could top 1000.

The beach at Hurghada.

Six killed as tourist submarine sinks off Egyptian coast

The Russian embassy reportedly said that 45 people were on board the submarine when it sank in the tourist port city of Hurghada.

Klungkung District Police released this image of the capsized boat in the waters off Nusa Penida.

Australian tourist killed as snorkelling boat capsizes near Bali

The Sea Dragon boat was on its way from a port in Bali to Nusa Penida, a popular tiny island near Bali, when it was overwhelmed by high waves, police said.

Women cry outside a hospital in the town of Kocani, North Macedonia, following a massive fire in the nightclub early.

59 dead as fire rips through packed nightclub in North Macedonia

The tragedy focused national attention on corruption in the small Balkan country as authorities detained 15 people.

The scene after the North Sea shipping collision.

Blazing tanker spills jet fuel after cargo ship crashes into it off UK

The incident, in which the vessel was holding about 140,000 barrels, is one of the most significant maritime disasters near Britain for many years.

January

Black Hawk helicopter.

Black Hawk helicopter was ‘flying too high, by a lot’, Trump says

Impact occurred at an altitude of about 105 metres, according to flight-tracking data, which would put it outside of the standard path for the helicopter route.

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January

First responders on the Potomac River after the midair collision above Washington.

‘Abnormal’ flight path as tragic Washington midair crash probed

An experienced former Australian army helicopter pilot living in Washington expressed surprise at the Blackhawk’s flight path above the highly restricted airport.

Footage from a security camera at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington shows the collision.

‘Oh my God’: Final moments before fatal midair crash

As American Airlines flight 5342 descended calmly over the Potomac River, a US army helicopter approached. The outcome was devastating.

Wreckage is seen on the Potomac River of the American Airlines plane near Ronald Reagan National Airport.

Washington plane crash linked to staffing and crowded airspace

Officials pushed ahead with finding bodies and clues to what caused the midair collision in Washington that killed 67 people and raised questions about air safety.

A smouldering home in Altadena.

Los Angeles on high alert with extreme winds due to return

The US National Weather Service issued a red flag warning and officials have warned all of LA County’s nearly 10 million residents to be ready to evacuate.

The sun rises behind a home destroyed by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades.

More reported missing as strong winds fuel LA blazes

The Eaton fire, which has killed at least 11 people, ranks among the 10 deadliest in California history. Officials say the death toll is likely to rise.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/tragedy-63c