As of 2026-10-12, 1992 Zangon Kataf crises tops the list with 566 deaths.
- #1 1992 Zangon Kataf crises — 566 deaths
ethno-religious crises in Nigeria
The genesis of the 1992 Zangon Kataf crises could at least be traced to the onset of the British imperial regime in the Northern Region of Nigeria, in which the Atyap people began reporting the loss of land to the Hausas. In 1922, it was reported that a large piece of land was acquired by the Emir of Zaria, Dalhatu Uthman Yero, who failed to compensate the indigenous population of the region. In 1966, the land was provided to the Hausa trading settlement in the heart of Mabatado, called "Zangon... Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #2 Cinema Rex fire — 470 deaths
Massacre
The Cinema Rex fire occurred on 19 August 1978 when the Cinema Rex in Abadan, Iran, was set ablaze, killing between 377 and 470 people. The event started when four individuals, who were militants motivated by Islamic extremism, doused the building with airplane fuel before setting it alight. The attack was responsible in part for triggering the Iranian Revolution of 1979, which saw the overthrow of the ruling dynasty under the Iranian monarch and a related outbreak of mass violence. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #3 Daegu subway fire — 192 deaths
train wreck
On February 18, 2003, an arsonist set fire to a Daegu Metro subway train as it arrived at Jungangno station in central Daegu, South Korea. The resulting blaze, which spread when a second train stopped at the same station, killed 192 people and injured another 151. It remains the deadliest loss of life in a single deliberate incident in South Korean peacetime history, surpassing the 1982 shooting rampage committed by Woo Bum-kon. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #4 1993 Lal Chowk fire — 125 deaths
Arson in Srinagar, Kashmir
The 1993 Lal Chowk fire refers to the arson attack on the main commercial centre of downtown Srinagar, Kashmir, that took place on 10 April 1993. The fire is alleged by government officials to have been started by a crowd incited by militants, while civilians and police officials interviewed by Human Rights Watch and other organisations allege that the Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) set fire to the locality in retaliation for the burning of an abandoned BSF building by local residents.... Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #5 Happy Land fire — 87 deaths
1990 arson fire in Bronx, New York
The Happy Land fire was an act of arson and mass murder that killed 87 people on March 25, 1990, in the Bronx in New York City, United States. The 87 victims were trapped in the unlicensed Happy Land social club, located at 1959 Southern Boulevard in the West Farms section of the Bronx. Most victims were young Hondurans celebrating Carnival, many of them part of the Garifuna American community. Cuban refugee Julio González, whose former girlfriend was employed at the club, was arrested soon... Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #6 Käpplinge murders — 70 deaths
Käpplinge murders was the name of a massacre conducted on Käpplingeholmen in Stockholm in June 1389, when 70 men were placed in a barn house and burned alive. The massacre was performed by the hättebröder as a part of the power struggle at the time between the German burgher party and the Swedish burgher party in the city of Stockholm, when the German burghers supported Albert, King of Sweden, and the Swedish burghers supported Margaret I of Denmark in their rivalry over the throne of... Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #7 2018 Valencia, Venezuela fire — 68 deaths
fire in Venezuela
On 28 March 2018, a fire broke out during a prison riot in the cells at the Carabobo state police headquarters in Valencia, Carabobo, Venezuela. The fire killed at least 68 people and injured scores of others. The fire is one of the deadliest incidents ever in a Venezuelan prison since the 1994 Sabaneta prison fire, in which more than 100 inmates died. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #8 Pittsburgh railroad strike of 1877 — 61 deaths
Strikes and riots in Pittsburgh in 1877
The Pittsburgh railroad strike of 1877 occurred in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as part of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. It was one of many incidents of strikes, labor unrest and violence in cities across the United States, including several in Pennsylvania. Other cities dealing with similar unrest included Philadelphia, Reading, Shamokin and Scranton. The incidents followed repeated reductions in wages and sometimes increases in workload by railroad companies, during a period of economic... Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #9 Odesa Trade Unions building fire — 48 deaths
2014 conflagration in Ukraine
In early 2014, there were clashes between rival groups of protesters in the Ukrainian city of Odesa, during the pro-Russian unrest that followed the Ukrainian Revolution. On one side were 'pro-Maidan' groups who supported the revolution and a united Ukraine; on the other side were 'anti-Maidan' and pro-Russian separatist groups. There were far-right elements on both sides. The clashes resulted in 48 people being killed and hundreds wounded. They took place during the 2014 Russian annexation of... Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #10 Xiamen bus fire — 47 deaths
murder-suicide attack in Xiamen, China
On 7 June 2013, a mass murder-suicide attack occurred on a bus in Xiamen, Fujian, China. A bus operating for the Xiamen BRT caught fire and exploded on an elevated lane near the Jinshan stop; 47 people died and 34 were injured. Read more on Wikipedia.
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