On December 24, 1953, a night train ran from Wellington to Auckland. In Tangiwai, the Whangaehu River has just received a flow loaded with water, mud and rocks. It comes from the crater lake of Mount Ruapehu, whose natural barrier has given way. The railway bridge is reached a few minutes before the train arrives.
The driver operates the emergency brake, but the locomotive and several cars plunge into the river. The national memorial bears the names of the 151 people who died in the accident. The New Zealand Ministry of Culture and Heritage also documents the actions of the crew and the rescue of some of the travellers.
The passengers were traveling far from the top. A rupture of the lake, however, had transmitted the danger to their bridge by the river network, without a river of lava.
What we know
Lahar from the crater lake; do not describe a lava eruption under the train.
To go to the source
References accessed October 11, 2026. Linked pages may be in another language.
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