Zagreb train disaster
The Zagreb train disaster occurred on 30 August 1974 when an express train traveling from Belgrade, Yugoslavia, to Dortmund, West Germany, derailed before entering Zagreb Main Station, killing 153 people. It was the worst rail accident in Yugoslavia's history and remains one of the worst in Europe's history.
The accident
The accident occurred when all nine cars from a passenger express train derailed and rolled over at the entrance to Zagreb's main train station, from the entrance to Track IIa. At 22:33 hours the locomotive entered the station via Track IIa without any of its carriages.Many of the passengers died immediately; as many as 41 who could not be identified were buried in a common grave at the Mirogoj Cemetery.
The surviving passengers reported that the train had not slowed while passing through the stations at Ludina and Novoselec, about an hour before reaching Zagreb Main Station, and that it had been leaning dangerously.
The passengers were mainly gastarbeiters working in West Germany and their families, which included many children. The driver and driver's assistant were uninjured, and the locomotive remained intact. The locomotive is now on display in the Croatian Railway Museum.
The train was scheduled to arrive in Zagreb from Vinkovci at 19:45 local time. The driver, Nikola Knežević, and his assistant, Stjepan Varga, were both exhausted, having worked for two full days.