The National Geographic documentary series Disaster Autopsy dissects three real-world disasters in its latest episode, titled “Surfside, Kursk, Kings Cross.” The episode, airing on Saturday, September 7, 2024, at 10:00 p.m., forensically examines the Surfside Condo collapse, the loss of the Kursk nuclear submarine, and the Kings Cross subway fire.
Beginning with the Surfside Condo collapse, the episode examines the events leading up to the catastrophic structural failure of the Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside, Florida, on June 24, 2021. The disaster resulted in the deaths of 98 people and sparked a debate about the safety of older high-rise buildings. The investigation into the cause of the collapse involved engineers, geologists, and other experts, and the episode presents their findings and insights.
The episode then turns its attention to the loss of the Kursk, a Russian Oscar-II class nuclear-powered submarine. On August 12, 2000, the Kursk suffered a catastrophic explosion while preparing to take part in a naval exercise in the Barents Sea. All 118 personnel on board perished, and the incident remains one of the most devastating submarine disasters in history. The episode explores the events leading up to the explosion and the subsequent failed rescue attempts, as well as the eventual recovery of the submarine and the investigation into its cause.
Finally, the episode remembers the Kings Cross fire, a tragic blaze that occurred at the Kings Cross St. Pancras tube station in London on November 18, 1987. The fire, which started under a wooden escalator, resulted in the deaths of 31 people and injured a further 100. The episode examines the events of that fateful day, the subsequent investigation, and the significant changes that were implemented in the underground system as a result.
Disaster Autopsy: Surfside, Kursk, Kings Cross airs on Saturday, September 7, 2024, at 10:00 p.m. on National Geographic.
