When you think you’re living in a safe corner of the planet, the universe might have other plans. In fact, there have been at least ten moments when a chain of events teetered on the edge of catastrophe, only to be pulled back by a mix of luck, quick thinking, or sheer happenstance. These 10 narrowly averted incidents show just how fragile our modern world can be, and why we should never take safety for granted.
10. A Submarine Fire Nearly Causes The Next Chernobyl
10 narrowly averted: The Submarine Inferno That Almost Sparked a New Nuclear Disaster
The 1986 Chernobyl catastrophe remains the deadliest nuclear accident in history, claiming around 50 lives directly and exposing countless others to dangerous radiation. Fast‑forward twenty‑five years, and a Russian nuclear submarine, docked for repairs, ignited a blaze that threatened to eclipse Chernobyl’s horror. This vessel carried two reactors, a cache of mines, torpedoes, and several missiles, each armed with four nuclear warheads.
While the sub was being serviced, careless workers allowed a hot spark to strike dry wooden scaffolding, instantly setting off a fierce fire. The flames engulfed the hull, and Russian publication Vlast warned that an explosion of any torpedo could have detonated the warheads, creating what it described as “an extremely dangerous nuclear accident.”
The dockyard sits at Roslyakovo, about 1,500 kilometres north of Moscow – a sparsely populated area, yet still home to enough people that a radiation leak would have been catastrophic. Authorities chose not to evacuate, meaning even a modest release would have affected thousands. For a full day, the world teetered on the brink of a new nuclear nightmare.
Firefighters ultimately quelled the blaze by partially flooding the submarine, preventing a full‑scale explosion. Though the danger passed, Russia’s track record with nuclear‑powered vessels remains concerning, suggesting another close call could be lurking just around the corner.
9. Britain Nearly Shoots Down A Passenger Plane Over London
In the chaotic days after the September 11 attacks, global airspace was on high alert. When an unresponsive passenger aircraft entered British skies, officials feared a hijacked plane destined for the heart of London. The potential targets – Westminster, Downing Street, or the bustling Oxford Circus – sent a chill through UK intelligence.
The Royal Air Force scrambled a fighter jet, poised to intercept and, if necessary, bring down the airliner. In Downing Street, Prime Minister Tony Blair faced a split‑second decision: order the jet to fire and possibly save the capital, or hope the mystery resolved peacefully.
Blair later recounted that he was seconds away from giving the order, but his resolve faltered. Fortunately, contact was re‑established within a minute, revealing a technical glitch that had silenced the aircraft’s communications. The plane was full of ordinary tourists, not terrorists. Had Blair authorized the shoot‑down, hundreds would have perished, and debris would have rained on a major city.
8. Aum Shinrikyo Spray Anthrax Over Tokyo
On June 29, 1993, residents near the Kameido headquarters of the extremist cult Aum Shinrikyo reported a strange odor wafting through the air. The next day, locals began experiencing nausea and vomiting, and by the third day a rooftop device belonging to the group released a fine, oily black mist that coated buildings and skin throughout the ward.
Two years later, the cult infamously released sarin gas in the Tokyo subway, killing 12 and injuring over 5,500. When authorities finally examined samples from the 1993 mist, they discovered it contained aerosolised anthrax – one of the deadliest pathogens known to humanity.
Releasing a sustained anthrax cloud over a densely populated city could have resulted in thousands of fatalities, potentially making it the deadliest terrorist act ever recorded. Luck intervened, however: the cult inadvertently used a strain originally developed for vaccination, which effectively immunised those exposed rather than killing them.
7. Britain Comes Within One Minute Of Its Worst Rail Disaster
On the night of March 7, 2015, a steam‑powered tourist train in Wiltshire barreled through a red signal, ignoring an automatic braking system that should have halted it at a junction. The driver had disabled the safety feature, allowing the train to speed past the warning and onto a track already occupied by an express service.
Less than a minute earlier, a fast‑moving express carrying 300‑400 passengers zipped through the same junction at 110 km/h (about 70 mph). The red light was meant to protect the express, but the steam train surged through, barely slowing. Had the timing been off by seconds, a high‑speed collision would have occurred, likely resulting in a massive derailment and a death toll rivaling Britain’s worst rail tragedies.
6. A Waste Disposal Firm Accidentally Creates A Radioactive Death Ray
No one in the north of England would have taken notice as a nondescript truck rolled down the road on March 11, 2002, carrying medical equipment slated for disposal. The firm AEA was moving a heavily radioactive container that, due to a forgotten seal, emitted a narrow, high‑intensity beam of radiation.
The container, weighing 2.5 tons, was left with one end open, projecting a radiation stream up to 1,000 times above safe levels. If the container had been positioned horizontally, the beam could have stretched 300 metres across the countryside, exposing anyone along its path. A crash could have released the contents, poisoning responders and nearby residents.
Prosecutors later called the incident “pure good fortune” because no one suffered dangerous exposure. AEA was fined £151,000 for the breach, underscoring how a small oversight could have created a lethal radiation hazard.
5. ETA Tries To Explode A Gigantic Bomb In Central Madrid
Before announcing a permanent cease‑fire in 2011, the Basque separatist group ETA was one of Europe’s most feared terrorist organisations. In 1987 they carried out a deadly mall bombing that killed 21 civilians. Four years later, they attempted an even larger attack: a van packed with 30 kg of dynamite and 500 kg of chloratite, intended for the centre of Madrid.
The bomb would have been the biggest ever used by ETA, threatening anyone within a mile of the city centre and causing millions of euros in damage. Fortunately, routine police checks in Cuenca uncovered the massive device before it could reach Madrid.
This was not ETA’s only near‑miss. In 1999, two vans loaded with explosives were intercepted en route to the Torre Picasso, a building housing around 5,000 workers.
4. Soviet Scientists Nearly Kill An Entire Russian City
During the Cold War, the city of Sverdlovsk (now Ekaterinburg) was suspected of hosting a Soviet bioweapons laboratory. Although NATO monitored the region, concrete evidence was scarce until Boris Yeltsin’s 1992 admission that the city stored lethal pathogens. He also revealed a 1979 mishap that released anthrax spores into the atmosphere.
Workers failed to replace a filtration exhaust, allowing aerosolised anthrax to escape. The wind carried the pathogen away from the facility, infecting 94 people, 64 of whom died. Had the wind shifted toward Sverdlovsk, Dr. Kanatjan Alibekov estimated hundreds of thousands could have perished.
3. The IRA Nearly Assassinates The British Prime Minister
The IRA’s campaign of terror in the United Kingdom left a deep scar on the nation, including a 1991 mortar attack on a cabinet meeting in London. Their most audacious plot came on October 12, 1984, when a bomb placed in Brighton’s Grand Hotel was set to explode during the Conservative Party conference, a gathering teeming with ministers.
Bomber Patrick Magee positioned a 500‑kg explosive in room 629, timed to detonate in the dead of night. The blast ripped through walls, sent concrete fragments onto the street, and heavily damaged the suite Margaret Thatcher occupied. Had she been asleep, she likely would have been killed.
An assassination of a sitting prime minister – the first since 1812 – would have dramatically altered British politics and derailed peace talks with Northern Ireland. While five people died, the attack fell short of the epoch‑shaking tragedy it could have become.
2. A Dam Failure Nearly Causes The US’s Worst Ever Disaster
The 1971 San Fernando earthquake claimed 64 lives, injured over 2,500, and caused massive infrastructure damage. Yet the quake also threatened to unleash an even greater catastrophe when the Van Norman reservoir’s lower dam began to crumble.
Within a twelve‑second tremor, the dam’s top ten metres collapsed. By sheer luck the reservoir was only half full, limiting the potential flood. Still, water rose to within two metres of the dam’s crest, and aftershocks kept chipping away at the concrete. Around 80,000 residents were evacuated over three days, with the dam’s survival hinging on just a few feet of freeboard.
If the reservoir had been at capacity, or if the remaining freeboard had failed, the resulting deluge would have killed more people than the combined toll of Pearl Harbor, the 1906 San Francisco quake, 9/11, and the 1900 Galveston hurricane. UCLA researchers later estimated a death toll ranging from 71,600 to 123,400.
1. An Asteroid Nearly Wipes Out The Largest City On Earth
At 7:17 a.m. on June 30, 1908, a fiery rock streaked across the Siberian sky before detonating with the force of roughly 1,000 Hiroshima‑size bombs. The explosion flattened an area of forest spanning 2,000 sq km (800 sq mi), and the shockwave was felt across the continent.
The Tunguska event remains the most powerful modern impact in recorded history. By sheer coincidence, the blast landed in a remote taiga, sparing most humans. Scientists warn that had the asteroid struck six hours earlier, it would have slammed into London – the world’s largest city at the time, with a population of 6.5‑7.5 million.
Such a strike would have vaporised everything within today’s M25 orbital motorway, a 200‑sq‑km (80‑sq‑mi) zone, resulting in millions of deaths. The destruction of the British Empire’s capital would have crippled global economics and reshaped geopolitical dynamics for generations.