Surviving Disaster

Season 1 - Surviving Disaster

• Season 1 Episode 7: The Sinking of The Estonia (2007) Focusing on the Estonia ferry tragedy. Considered a symbol of freedom from Communist rule by the Estonian people, the ship set off through the Baltic sea in 1994. When a fierce storm occurred, the crew remained determined to arrive at their destination on time and maintained full speed. However, this caused the car ramp to open, sinking the vessel and killing more than 800 people
• Season 1 Episode 6: Iran Hostage Rescue Examining the United States' failed attempt to end the 1980 siege at their embassy in Tehran. A combination of poor planning and schoolboy errors led to the deaths of eight American servicemen as they sought to rescue the 53 remaining hostages. The debacle raised the Ayetollah's profile and is said to have directly contributed to President Carter's failure to be re-elected. The crisis finally and peacefully concluded after 444 days, in January 1981
• Season 1 Episode 5: The Fastnet Yacht Race (2007) The story of the Force 10 gale which decimated the 1979 Fastnet race, the last of the Admiral's Cup events in that year. A massive search and rescue operation was begun as half of the 300 yachts competing went missing in a 20,000 area square of the Irish Sea. The death toll was 15, and the ramifications are still felt today with the increased safety requirements introduced in the aftermath
• Season 1 Episode 4: San Francisco Earthquake (2006) Reconstruction of the earthquake that devastated San Francisco in 1989, the most powerful tremor to strike northern California in 80 years. The story is told from the perspective of emergency services at the Cypress freeway, a huge viaduct supporting two levels of roadway. The concrete pillars supporting the structure were damaged, and rescue workers fought to get all the motorists clear before everything collapsed
• Season 1 Episode 3: Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster (2007) Documentary recounting the catalogue of safety infringements prior to the explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant in Ukraine in 1986, many of which were not only recognised before the disaster but entirely deliberate. Fifty-seven people died on the day and, as the resultant radioactive cloud stretched as far west as Ireland, vast areas of eastern Europe were contaminated and many babies born with defects
• Season 1 Episode 2: Eruption at Mount St Helens (2007) Docu-drama recreating the eruption of Mount St Helens, Washington State, in 1980. The disaster was preceded by a series of earthquakes and a discharge of ash and steam, and scientists struggled to determine whether anything could be done to avert the danger, while many locals refused to move in the face of imminent catastrophe. When the explosion finally occurred, the destructive force was estimated at 500 times the power of the Hiroshima bomb. Featuring eyewitness accounts from reporters, visit…
• Season 1 Episode 1: Munich Air Crash (2006) New series. The 1958 plane crash that killed 23 passengers after the aircraft overshot the runway during take-off from Munich airport. Among the dead were eight members of Matt Busby's Manchester United football squad, including team captain Roger Byrne. The programme includes a reconstruction of events, and examines the aftermath of the accident and the investigation that followed