Tasman Bridge Disaster.
The picture shows a moment of devastation and tragedy with one of the more unpleasant events of Australian history. This is the Tasman Bridge Collapse, an event that caused destruction and pain for the people of Tasmania, an island state of Australia.
At about 9:27 p.m. on January 5th 1975 in Hobart, the capital of Tasmania, a ship that was carrying a large load of iron ore on a nearby river went out of control as it went under a bridge that supported a highway across. The weighted ship crashed into the supports with enormous force and began the collapse.
One by one, the columns were smashed, sending more and more of the bridge down at a distance of 150 feet crashing into the ship or the river. Drivers on the bridge were brought down with the rubble.
It is reported that it was a dark foggy night and that, for some reason, there were no lights on the bridge to help people see it. This could explain how the ship managed to crash into the columns so recklessly. Medical teams were called out immediately to the scene, but there were also a group of boaters that were nearby when the incident went down. These brave men and women went around trying to save as many people as possible who had fallen into the river.
At the end of it all, there were five people on the bridge who were killed and seven members of the boat’s crew who lost their lives.
Writer / Quiz Creator
Andrew Nicholas is a passionate reader and writer on the subjects of history and mankind. He is a published author, critic, and poet who grew up in the friendly scenery of rural Ohio. He is a graduate of Wright State University and a regular student of historical curiosities.