Eagles of Death Metal
On November 13, 2015, the Eagles of Death Metal were performing in the Bataclan Theater in Paris when four terrorists attacked the audience. On the left, Gilles Leclerc is smiling in a picture taken by his partner Marianne Labanane before the show began.
Unfortunately, Gilles and 88 other people didn’t survive the attack. Three out of the five band members made it outside the theatre, while the other two had to find a hidden spot and wait for rescuers. The terrorists were packed with grenades, automatic rifles, and suicide vests. This photo was taken just a few moments before four gunmen stormed into the Bataclan.
Bear Attacks Hiker
These hikers' lives changed in a matter of seconds. The group was enjoying a day hike on September 21, 2014, when a black bear, which weighed approximately 300 pounds, attacked Darsh Patel, one of the students of the group.
Unfortunately, Darsh died that day at only 22 years old. The tragedy was captured by the victim moments before the bear attacked him. Darsh’s phone was later found in the woods with marks of the bear’s bite.
Boy Fell Off A Plane
This picture, taken half a decade ago, was taken by John Gilspin, an amateur photographer who was happy to be photographing planes during take-off, as he had bought a new camera. He didn’t know that he would capture a tragedy.
Keith Sapsford was a 14-year-old boy from Sydney who had an adventurous -and rather killer- spirit. He purposely climbed into the plane as he wanted to see the world from a better perspective. The boy fell 200 feet after the plane took off.
Patrick Swayze
Actor Patrick Swayze enjoyed his golden years between 1980 and 1999 when he starred in blockbuster movies such as Dirty Dancing and Ghost. He was also a great dancer, singer and songwriter.
Patrick was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer in 2008. Even though he fought against the illness with chemotherapy, the actor died on September 14, 2009, surrounded by family. This is a picture of Patrick in his final days.
Teacher Sacrifice
The Columbine High School massacre in Colorado was one of the most tragic events of 1999. Teens Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shot and killed 15 people and injured 24 students. One of the victims was William Dave Sanders, who is seen in the picture.
Sanders was a school teacher who, instead of seeking shelter, ran towards the cafeteria to warn students about the shooters. Even though he saved hundreds of students, he couldn’t save himself, as he was shot twice by the teens in a hallway.
Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571
This picture was taken after the Uruguayan Flight 571, also known as the Miracle of the Andes or the Andes flight disaster, crashed into the Andes Mountains. The airplane took off in Montevideo, Uruguay and was expected to land in Santiago, Chile, but never made it.
On October 13th, 1972, the chartered flight crashed into the Andes Mountains. Out of 48 people on board, 29 of them survived the crash. Unfortunately, 13 people died of starvation, exposure, and even an avalanche. The remaining 16 survivors were found 72 days after the crash.
The Snake King
Ali Khan Bin Samsuddin was a well-known snake charmer. Born in Malaysia, Samduddin was famous for spending 40 days of his life in a tiny room where he lived with 400 cobras. He obtained the “Scorpion King” title and reached the 1998 Guinness Book after living with 6,000 scorpions for 21 days.
Samsuddin was only 48 years old when he was killed by a cobra which he was trying to charm. The picture was taken moments after the cobra bit him. A small bite ended the snake charmer’s life in 2006.
Air France Flight 4590
The tragedy of Air France Flight 4590 left no survivors. The fatal accident took place on July 25, 2000. The flight was intended to arrive in New York, but it couldn’t even take off, as it overran debris which caused the tire to blow out and the fuel tank to rupture.
The plane crashed into a hotel after the engine caught on fire. There were one hundred passengers on board, and all of them tragically died that day. Nine crew members also lost their lives. This is Concorde’s first and only tragedy.
Ayrton Senna
Born in Brazil, Ayrton Senna was a top Formula One driver. His last competition took place on May 1, 1994, in the San Marino Grand Prix in Italy. Senna was driving at 135.4 mph when he crashed into a concrete barrier and died.
This picture was taken moments before the race started. An Italian court later determined that Senna’s car suffered from a mechanical failure, which most disagreed with. His tragedy brought several new safety measures in Formula One.
Hot Air Balloon Tragedy
What happened on January 7, 2012, in Carterton, New Zealand, had only happened twice before, according to the history of hot air balloon fatalities. This balloon failed to land due to a power lines collision and tragically caught on fire. Everyone on board died, including 10 passengers and the pilot.
According to investigators, the balloon pilot made an error in judgment as he failed to act properly when there was contact with the power lines. Toxicology tests determined that the pilot was under the influence of cannabis while flying the balloon, which proves why he committed such a mistake.
The 1943 Catastrophe
William Dee Becker was the mayor of St. Louis and co-founder of Lambert’s Field. During World War II, Becker owned a business that built gliders for the war. These army gliders were meant to transport both soldiers and equipment.
On August 1, 1943, Becker and nine politicians were inside a military glider for a demonstration. This picture was taken moments before a C-47 plane pulled them away. Unfortunately, the glider had its wing folded, which caused it to crash into the ground.
Titanic
The ship, which was built to be unsinkable, struck an iceberg 375 miles away from Newfoundland at midnight on April 14, 1912. The Titanic was sailing the world from Europe to the United States. It was a promising ship.
Out of 2,224 passengers on board, only 705 survived, mainly first-class passengers. The help arrived too late, as the survivors were the ones on the boats. In this picture, the Titanic is departing from Queenstown. This is probably the last picture of the Titanic still afloat.
Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182
It was the morning of September 25, 1978, when Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182 took off from Sacramento. The commercial airline was intended to land in Los Angeles, but it couldn’t make it. There were 128 passengers and seven crew members on board.
While flying over San Diego, California, the Boeing 727-214 collided with a small private Cessna aircraft. There were no survivors. Seven people passing by were additionally killed on the ground as a result of the collision.
John Lennon
Singer John Lennon thought he was surrounded by fans outside his residence in New York City. Who would have thought that the man standing behind him, Mark David Chapman, was planning to shoot Lennon 10 minutes after this picture was taken?
Three days before the singer's death, Lennon shared deep words while being interviewed by Rolling Stone magazine: "Give peace a chance, not shoot people for peace. All we need is love.” He’ll always be remembered as a legend.
The Station Nightclub Fire
On February 20, 2003, one of the deadliest nightclub fires in U.S. history took place. The Station went up in flames after the Great White’s tour manager set off fireworks which caused the walls and ceilings of The Station to catch on fire, as it contained a flammable acoustic foam material.
The picture shows the moment the band guitarist realized the place was on fire. This tragic event left a hundred people dead and 230 people badly injured. Only 132 people left the place unharmed.
Paul Walker
The world was shocked to see the news of Paul Walker’s death, which occurred inside his Porsche. Paul was well-known for his roles in Fast & Furious, the films that mainly dealt with illegal street racing and fast, expensive cars.
When he passed away, he was in the process of shooting Fast & Furious 7, for which his brother was called upon to film the remaining scenes. The car was driven by his friend, who crashed and got both of them killed.
Ebola Virus
The first recorded case of Ebola virus disease was from Zaïre, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The virus was named after the river located nearby, the Ebola River. In 1976, an Ebola outbreak took the lives of 280 people, out of 318 infected.
Nurse Mayinga N’Seka was photographed days before she was infected with the virus and died. She was thought to be the index case, but later investigators found out that the index case was a 44-year-old man from Yambuku.
Ian Kevin Curtis
Lead singer of the band Joy Division Ian Curtis was an English musician and songwriter. Even though the band was very successful, Curtis had a hard time, as he suffered from depression and epilepsy.
When the English band was on tour and was about to perform for the first time on a North American stage, a tragic event took place. The celebrity committed suicide hours before the show. This picture was taken five days before his death.
Notorious B.I.G.
Rapper and producer Christopher Wallace had an unfortunate fate. He was known as Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls. His work was considered highly influential in the rap industry.
On March 9, 1997, the 24-year-old rapper lost his life after being shot outside a club. The shooter quickly drove away, so his identity remains unknown. Wallace left unpublished work behind, so after his death, two albums were published, which sold 17 million copies in the USA alone.