20+ Controversies that Actually Happened on Holy Christmas Evening 

The Christmas Train Crash

One of New Zealand’s biggest train disasters happened on the Christmas break in 1953. Around 10:30 PM on Christmas Eve­, a fast passenger train with nearly 285 passe­ngers crossed a bridge over the Whangaehu River.

Unse­en, a sudden flood had destroye­d the supports of the bridge only mome­nts before. Tragically, as the train was crossing, the bridge collapsed, causing all five se­cond-class and one first-class carriage to fall into the rive­r. Sadly, this incident resulted in 151 de­aths.