Disasters recorded on 19 August across the years, drawn from our archive of historical events.
The Cinema Rex fire (Persian: آتشسوزی سینما رکس آبادان, lit. 'Rex Abadan cinema 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 individu…
Saudia Flight 163 was a scheduled Saudia passenger flight departing from Quaid-e-Azam Airport in Karachi, Pakistan, bound for Kandara Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, via then-Riyadh International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which caug…
A major wildfire occurred from 19 August 1949 to 25 August 1949 in the Landes forest in France. 50,000 hectares (500 km2) of forest land were burnt - and 82 people killed. It was considered the most deadly forest fire in Europe until the 20…