| Aracaju train crash | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Details | |
| Date | March 20, 1946 |
| Location | Aracaju |
| Country | Brazil |
| Operator | VFF Leste Brasileiro |
| Incident type | Derailment |
| Cause | Brake Failure caused by worn-out brakes |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 1 |
| Passengers | 1000 |
| Deaths | 185 |
| Injured | 300 |
The Aracaju train crash, which occurred on March 20, 1946, is the worst ever rail disaster in Brazil; resulting in the deaths of 185 people and 300 injured. The accident happened near Aracaju, capital of the coastal state of Sergipe, 800 miles (1,287 km) northeast of Rio de Janeiro.
The train concerned was a suburban service operating between Aracaju and Capela, Sergipe, and carrying about one thousand passengers. The locomotive, baggage car and three passenger cars were derailed whilst descending a steep incline near Aracaju, most of the dead being "smashed within the cars", "Many bodies were mutilated so badly that identification was impossible".
Grief-stricken relatives came to the scene and nearly lynched the surviving locomotive engineer who, depending on the source, either took refuge in a police station or fled the area later to surrender in the town of Laranjeiras, Sergipe. The train conductors also fled.
References
- "São Cristóvão". Estações Ferroviárias.
- ^ Haine, Edgar A. (1993). Railway Wrecks. pp. 145–146. ISBN 0-8453-4844-2.
- ^ "Lynch Threat by Train Crowd". The Sydney Morning Herald. March 22, 1946.
- The San Mateo Times. California. March 21, 1946.
{{cite news}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "Daily Kennebec Journal Archives, Mar 21, 1946, p. 1". NewspaperArchive.com. 1946-03-21. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
10°48′46″S 37°09′50″W / 10.81278°S 37.16389°W / -10.81278; -37.16389
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