15 Final Images Taken Just Seconds Before Disaster
Life is all about moments. Some of these moments are positive and uplifting, and there are others that are sad and devastating. This slideshow reveals some of the most tragic moments to have ever happened on our planet. The images that you are about to see were photographed only seconds before tragedy struck. They’re not easy to look at, and when you read the short story behind each image you will realize just how precious life really is.
In the last century we witnessed some of the most shattering events that have defined humanity and those who fight to destroy it. We saw two wars that had never been witnessed by their large scale, and we saw how those wars have continued decades later into the very days that we live in today. But aside from war, we have witnessed immense casualties caused by discriminate terrorism. Suicide bombings, assassinations and other means of terrorizing civilians and democracy riddled the 70’s and the decades since. But disaster hasn’t only been dealt by the actions of one’s enemies. Rather catastrophe has occurred in some cases by performers and artists, beating themselves at life in the pursuit of becoming better and more entertaining.
And of course there is nature and her mighty hand in the determination of life and death. Natural disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes have caused humans and animals alike to suffer great losses. With the onset of global warming, irregular weather patterns have created a series of disastrous events that have extinguished human, animal, and plant life in a matter of minutes.
When calamity strikes, we start to wonder how anyone would deserve the fate that those events have brought to them. Why would a newlywed bride die on a diving honeymoon in the Great Barrier Reef? Why would a nurse fighting the Ebola breakout become one of its first victims? These are questions that we might never know the answer to, but we sure as heck continue to wonder about them.
The pictures you are about to see in this gallery are eerie, but their stories are far more disturbing. We are sure that none of these people would have thought that these would be their final moments, or that their final moment would be captured on camera. Here they are.
Dale Earnhardt
Dale Earnhardt is a well known NASCAR stock car driver who won a staggering seven Winston Cup championship victories plus 76 career wins, which include the 1998 Daytona 500. However in February 18, 2001, he crashed during the final lap into the retaining wall after he make contact with Ken Schrader during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. He was killed instantly. Earnhardt was pronounced officially near the nearby Halifax Medical Center when he was only 49 years old. His tragic death was highly publicized and forced NASCAR to make serious safety improvements.
Dale Earnhardt
The 1961 U.S. Figure Skaters
The Sabena Flight 548 was an aircraft that tragically crashed en route from New York City to Brussels, Belgium, on February 15, 1961. The crash killed 73 people which included the entire U.S. figure skating team. The team were on their way to the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
The 1961 U S Figure Skaters
Dave Sanders
The Columbine High School massacre is a story that people know all too well and tragically so. Columbine was a school shooting that happened on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Colorado. The two shooters were seniors at the school, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who murdered 12 students and one teacher. They also injured 24 people before they committed suicide. In the picture below, you’ll see Dave Sanders who was a teacher at the school. He ran into the cafeteria and warned the students to evacuate immediately, he saved many lives with this act. Tragically Sanders ran on to try and save more lives until he encountered Harris who shot him twice, ultimately killing him.
Dave Sanders
Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
There’s not a single person who doesn’t know what Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster is, not a one. This horrible event occurred on January 28, 1986. Just 73 seconds, (that’s seconds people), into its flight, the orbiter broke apart and led to the deaths of all the seven members on board, which included five NASA astronauts and two Payload Specialists. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was a monumental disaster felt by many Americans.
Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
TransAsia Airways Flight 235
TransAsia Airways Flight 235 was a domestic flight that crashed into the Keelung River on 4 February 2015. Two minutes after takeoff, the pilots of the flight reported that an engine flame-out had occurred. There were 53 passengers and five crew on board, of that only 15 survivors.
Transasia Airways Flight 235
September 11, 2011
The attacks of 9/11 were one of the most tragic and shocking events in American history, it was an event that rocked Americans to their very core and will never be forgotten. The Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda, coordinated a series of four terrorists attacks on the regular Tuesday morning of September 11, 2011. These attacks killed 2,996 people, while injuring over 6,000 others. The attacks also caused around $10 billion in property and infrastructure damage and $3 trillion in total costs. We never forget the heinous act committed that day.
September 11 2011
Paul Walker
When the news hit that the beloved and handsome Paul Walker was killed in a tragic car accident, I’m pretty sure hearts broke all over the globe. Paul was in the Porche with his friend who was driving the car, Roger Rodas, when the crash happened. Paul was in the middle of filming Fast & Furious 7, which was eventually delayed and would be completed using the actor’s own brothers, Caleb and Cody, as body doubles. Whatever the circumstance behind his death, it was truly tragic that he is no longer with us.
Paul Walker
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17
In July 2014, the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, tragically though it was shot down, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board. Contact with the airliner was about some 50 km (31 mi) from the Ukraine–Russia border, and it crashed near Torez, Ukraine, 40 km (25 mi) from the border. The crash happened during an ongoing war in Donbass that was in an area controlled by the Donbass People’s Militia. However, while the crash is the deadliest airliner shoot-down, it was actually Malaysia Airlines’ second aircraft loss during 2014.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17
Bear attack
On September 21st of 2011, a group of hikers were in the West Milford’s Apshawa Preserve. The group of 5 people stopped in the middle of their hike when they saw a black bear, Darsh Patel who was a 22-year-old Rutgers University student proceeded to take 5 photos of the black bear. Sadly just moments later, that same student would be killed by the very bear he photographed.
Bear Attack
Lambert Disaster
In 1943, ten politicians, which included William Dee Becker, who was the mayor of St. Louis were in a glider accident. After a bolt failed, A single bolt had failed, the wing then sheared off and the glider plummeting about 2,000 feet to the ground directly in front of thousands of other stunned onlookers.
Lambert Disaster
Flight 182
Flight 182 was a commercial airliner that actually collided with a private light aircraft just over San Diego, California, back in September 1978. This was the first time a Pacific Southwest Airlines aircraft was in an accident with fatalities. 144 people on board the flight all tragically passed away, this is also the deadliest aircraft disaster that happened in California’s history.
Flight 182
The RMS Titanic
Don’t think about Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio when we talk about the RMS Titanic, we are referring to the actual British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean. In April of 1912, the Titanic collided with an iceberg on her voyage from Southampton, England to New York City. Of the 2,224 passengers and crew aboard the Titanic, more than 1,500 died, which makes it one of the deadliest commercial peacetime maritime disasters in modern history.
The RMSTitanic
Steve Irwin
Steve Irwin was everyone’s favorite “Crocodile Hunter.” He was a well known Australian nature expert and television personality. However on the 4th of September in 2006, just ten years ago, Irwin was pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while he was filming an underwater documentary film called Ocean’s Deadliest. In his honor, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship was named after him, ‘MY Steve Irwin’.
Steve Irwin
Chris McCandless
On September 6th of 1992, the decomposed body of hiker Chris McCandless was discovered by some moose hunters just outside of Denali National Park. Chris was 24 when he died and he was found inside of a rusting bus that served as a makeshift shelter for trappers, dog mushers, and other backcountry visitors. Tragically though, Chris had taped a note outside of the door saying that was in need of medical attention, that he was searching for berries to eat so don’t leave, just wait for his return. It was the story of Chris that sparked the book and movie Into The Wild.
Chris Mccandless
Concord Air France Flight 4590
In July of 2000, Air France Flight 4590 was scheduled to fly from Paris, France, to New York City. However during takeoff, the aircraft ran over some debris that was on the runway which caused a tire to blow up after a fuel tank was punctured. This caused a fire and engine failure. All of the 100 passengers and nine crew members that were aboard the flight died after the plane crashed into a hotel and four people in the hotel also died.
Concord Air France Flight 4590
James Dean
At just 24 years old, the iconic Hollywood legend James Dean passed away in a car crash. It was 1955 on September 30 and Dean had competed in quite a few auto races. He was on his way to a ports car racing competition when his crash crash at the junction of California State Route 46 (former 466) and California State Route 41.
James Dean
Japan Airlines Flight 123
Japan Airlines Flight 123 was a scheduled domestic Japan Airlines passenger flight from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport to Osaka International Airport, Japan. Then on August 12 of 1985, a Boeing 747SR on this route suffered from an explosive decompression just 12 minutes into the flight and then, 32 minutes later, crashed into two ridges of Mount Takamagahara in Ueno, Gunma Prefecture, 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Tokyo.
Japan Airlines Flight 123
Notorious B.I.G.
The Notorious B.I.G. and Biggie Smalls were also names of the incredible rapper Christopher Wallace. On the night of March 9, 1997, the rapper would be shot four times in a drive-by shooting in LA. Biggie would die from his wounds an hour later.
Notorious B I G
Suicide of R. Budd Dwyer
Robert Budd Dwyer was an American politician in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was the 30th Treasurer of Pennsylvania until his death on January 20, 1981. It was on this day that Dwyer called a news conference in the Pennsylvania state capitol of Harrisburg. While in front of the reporters that gathered, he killed himself in front of them with a .357 Magnum revolver.
Suicide Of R Budd Dwyer
Robert Overacker
Robert was a California stunt school graduate who was known to be a bit of dare-devil. And in 1995, he attempted to jump off Niagara Falls after having planned the stunt for more than seven years. The reason behind the stunt was honorable, he was trying to bring attention to the homeless as he written on his motorized ski boat, “Save the homeless.” Robert ended up riding off the Niagara Falls waters and plummeting to his death when his parachute failed to open.
Robert Overacker
2012 Carterton hot air balloon crash
January of 2012, a scenic hot air balloon took flight from Carterton, New Zealand, and tragically collided with a high voltage power line while it was attempting to land. This crash caused the hot air balloon to catch fire, disintegrate and crash just north of Carterton. 11 people were on board the hot air balloon, and all 11 died including the pilot.
2012 Carterton Hot Air Balloon Crash
Reynaldo Dagsa
It was just another opportunity to take a photo of his wife, daughter and mother-in-law for Reynaldo Dagsa. But a closer look at the photograph taken by the Filipino politician reveals an eerie image – a gang member pointing his gun at the politician. A moment later the gangster pulled the trigger, immediately ending Dagsa’s life.
Reynaldo Dagsa
Death By Niagara Falls
It was a beautiful day at Niagara Falls, but certainly too beautiful of a day to die. Ayano Tokumasu, a Japanese student, stands high in the background just moments before she jumped off the side in order to take her own life.
Death By Niagara Falls
Martin Luther King Jr.
The date is April 3rd, 1968 and the location is the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Martin Luther King Jr. can be seen on the balcony of the hotel; the exact spot where James Earl Ray would assassinate him.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Tina Watson
This story will make you think twice about lying when diving without the proper qualifications. A newlywed couple took a trip to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, but the husband lied about being a certified diver. Currents became too strong and instead of ensuring the safety of his new wife, David Watson swam to the surface, leaving his wife to drown under water. This was the last picture of Tina, floating in the background.
Tina Watson
Ebola Outbreak
The first major outbreak of Ebola took place in 1976. A nurse by the name of Mayinga N’Seka poses for the camera at the start of the outbreak. It would only be a few days before she died from the deadly and contagious virus.
Ebola Outbreak
Rangoon Bombing
The Rangoon bombing of 1983 in Burma was orchestrated by three North Koreans, and they did so with the intention of killing then South Korean president, Chun Doo-hwan. The bomb killed 21 people, but not the president, and only because he was stuck in traffic.
Rangoon Bombing
Granite Mountain Hotshots
Tragedy truly struck after lightning turned Yarnell Hill into a massive blaze. The Arizona fire department dispatched their specialized firefighting unit, the Granite Mountain Hotshots to tackle the blaze. Sadly the unit became engulfed themselves and all but one of the 20 members were killed.
Granite Mountain Hotshots
Omagh Bombing
A photographer took a pretty picture of a father and son in 1998. The image tells a story much deeper than a family relationship, however. The red car in the background was actually loaded with explosives set down by the Real Irish Republican Army in Omagh. The bomb exploded moments later and killed the photographer, but not the father and son.
Omagh Bombing
Parkour Fall
Parkour is a sport that is becoming more popular, but more dangerous too. Pavel Kashin made his last parkour stunt in 2013 when he attempted to do a backflip and fell off the 16th story of a building. This picture taken by his friends would be his last.
Parkour Fall
