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Story: Historic volcanic activity

An eye-witness account of the Tangiwai disaster

Document

This view of Whangaehu River bed after the flood had subsided shows the engine and one of the carriages covered in mud. Download the PDF to read Joan Karam's description of the terror of being in one of the carriages that plunged into the river, and how she escaped.

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New Zealand Herald

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How to cite this page

Eileen McSaveney, Carol Stewart and Graham Leonard, Historic volcanic activity – Ruapehu and the Tangiwai disaster, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/document/6874/an-eye-witness-account-of-the-tangiwai-disaster (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Eileen McSaveney, Carol Stewart and Graham Leonard, published 2 March 2009.

Comments

Chalsea
14 September 2021
This is amazing do you know who the farmer was that warned the train driver?