10 Disturbing Photos Taken Moments Before Disaster

10 Disturbing Photos Taken Moments Before Disaster

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re exploring infamous moments in history when eerie photographs, especially when viewed with hindsight, were taken shortly before a disaster or tragedy struck.

Pavel Kashin's Last Jump

Well-known in the parkour community and considered one of the best in the activity, Kashin decided to perform a stunt from a 16-story apartment building in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2013. Watched on by friends, one of whom would capture the daredevil’s last moments as they took photos of him. Kashin attempted a backflip on the ledge of the property. However, he missed the landing, sadly falling nearly 200 feet to his death. As the community shared their condolences, Kashin’s parents allowed the fateful photo to be publicized to not only showcase his talents but also deter others from attempting similar stunts.

The Air France Flight 4590 Disaster

Once thought of as the pinnacle of air travel, the Concorde fleet of supersonic planes often cut travelling time by over half the time it took standard passenger jets. However, considering that power, when it went wrong, there were dire consequences. In 2000, Air France Flight 4590 was taking off from Paris, France, to New York City. As it went down the runway, Toshihiko Sato captured fire emerging from the jet before it took to the air. The Concorde’s tire had exploded, causing debris to damage the landing gear and rupture the fuel tank. The plane soon lost control in the air and crashed into a nearby hotel. All passengers, crew, and four employees at the hotel lost their lives, resulting in 113 fatalities and six injuries.

Selfie Train Tragedy

In 2011, teenagers Essa Ricker, Kelsea Webster, and her younger sister, Savannah Webster, went to the train tracks in Spanish Fork Canyon, Utah. Savannah posted on Facebook about her excitement at standing near trains as they rode by. However, the trio took the risk too far as they stood on the tracks to take a selfie. In the background, the lights from the Union Pacific train can be seen. Despite the workers onboard the locomotive sounding the horn and applying the emergency brakes, the girls didn’t notice the danger as they were struck. Essa and Kelsea had already passed away as Savannah was rushed to the hospital. However, she sadly didn’t recover and was taken off life support days later.

Darsh Patel's Bear Encounter

In 2014, Patel, a student at Rutgers University, went with four friends to hike in the Apshawa Preserve in West Milford, New Jersey. However, during the nature walk, they soon realized an American black bear was following them. Patel got out his cellphone and took several photos of the animal, which progressively got closer to them with each image. The group then turned away from the bear, which caused it to attack. Everyone ran in different directions. However, the bear followed Patel. After the friends had lost sight of where he’d gone, the police were called. They sadly discovered Patel’s remains. A bear was located nearby, which the cops fatally shot, and found evidence that it had consumed a human recently.

Accidentally Photographing Own Assassination

On New Year’s Day in 2011, Reynaldo Dagsa was with his family as they celebrated in Caloocan, Philippines, where he served as a councilman in the area. While outside his house, Dagsa went to take a photo of his relatives next to a car. However, in the background, he unknowingly caught his assassin aiming a firearm at him. Shortly after taking the photo, Dagsa was shot dead. The assassin was soon identified as Arnel Buenaflor, who was later arrested alongside a couple of accomplices. The police believed Dagsa was targeted due to his work as a peacekeeper in the area, as his assassin was a part of a gang. Buenaflor was later charged with murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Princess Diana's Tragic Crash

It isn’t unknown for the paparazzi, who specialize in photographing famous people, to overstep boundaries to get a photo. However, none have resulted in as much tragedy as this. In 1997, despite no longer being married to Charles, the future monarch of the UK, Diana, the Princess of Wales, was still an obsession of the press. As she was being driven in a car in Paris, France, the paparazzi followed, taking pictures of her and other passengers. One image of the back of Diana’s head would be one of her last. This press pursuit, mixed with the driver being intoxicated, caused Diana’s car to crash. She, her partner Dodi Fayed, and driver Henri Paul perished, leaving bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones alive but seriously injured.

Haunting Message About Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17

In 2014, Dutch national Cor Pan was boarding Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Before getting inside, he snapped a photograph of the plane and posted it on Facebook with an eerie caption in Dutch, meaning “If it should disappear, this is what it looks like.” Hours later, while over eastern Ukraine on its way to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, officials lost contact with the plane. The investigation found it’d been shot down with a missile by Russian separatist forces in Ukraine. Nearly 300 people lost their lives in the tragedy. Pan wasn’t the only one to upload a photo before the disaster. Teenager Gary Slok took a selfie with his mom, Petra, as they sat in their seats.

The Incoming Tsunami Waves

On December 26th, 2004, an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2 to 9.3 struck in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of northern Indonesia. This caused a tsunami with waves up to 100 feet to crash into land, resulting in devastating damage. Many countries in Asia and Africa were severely affected, as more than 200,000 people lost their lives. Families of those vacationing in the area quickly searched for those they’d lost contact with, including the relatives of Canadians John and Jackie Knill. Sadly, they didn’t survive. As relief workers searched Thailand, they found a digital camera belonging to the couple. The couple had managed to take a series of photos of the tsunami striking the country before it swept them away.

16 Minutes Before Everything Changed

At around 08:30 in the morning on September 11th, 2001, David Monderer went to the Manhattan Bridge in New York City to photograph the stunning skyline on a beautiful morning featuring the iconic World Trade Center’s Twin Towers. As he packed up and was on his way home, at 08:46, the first plane struck the North Tower. It’s believed his image is one of the last of the Towers still standing unharmed. Monderer returned and took more photos as the Towers faced further attacks and collapsed. Extremists from the group al-Qaeda had hijacked four commercial airplanes to use as weapons to devastate the US with targeted strikes. Within New York and additional attacks in Virginia and Pennsylvania, nearly 3000 people lost their lives.

Robert Landsburg's Heroics at Mount St. Helens

In 1980, as scientists were awaiting the eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington, Landsburg, a US Navy veteran-turned-photographer, went to the mountain to document the volcano as it changed. On May 18th, the eruption occurred. However, Landsburg was only a few miles from St. Helens as the pyroclastic flow began to descend upon him. With incredible bravery, Landsburg continued taking photos of the mass of hot gas and volcanic matter. Then, he packed away his camera before lying on top of it to protect it as he was engulfed. Around 60 people lost their lives. Over two weeks later, Landsburg’s body was found, as were his photos, which have provided scientists with invaluable information on what happened.

Are there any other eerie photos taken before disasters and tragedies that we missed? Let us know in the comments below.