| Desjardins Canal disaster | |
| Image Alt: | Sketch of rescuers on the frozen canal with searchlights above. |
| Location: | Hamilton, Canada West, British North America |
| Type: | Train wreck |
| Cause: | Bridge collapse |
| Trains: | 1 |
| Passengers: | 90 |
| Deaths: | 59[1] |
| Injuries: | 18 |
The Desjardins Canal disaster was a rail transport disaster near Hamilton, Canada West. The train wreck occurred at 6:15p.m. on when a train on the Great Western Railway crashed through a bridge over the Desjardins Canal, causing the train and its passengers to fall 60feet into the ice below. With 59 deaths, it is considered one of the worst rail disasters in Canadian history.[2]
The train had ninety passengers. Most in the last train car survived but others on the train either drowned or succumbed to injury. Locomotive lamps and fires were built to illuminate the scene to aid in rescue efforts. Ropes and ladders were lowered to bring the dead and wounded out of the train cars. One car, partially submerged, was accessed with axes by rescuers.