Nine
On October 15, 1970, a huge concrete section of the West Gate Bridge in Melbourne collapsed, killing 35 workers.
The tragedy began just before noon when tradesmen working on the steel structure spanning the Yarra River heard a thunderous crack.
Moments later, a 122-metre-long span of the bridge fell out of the sky, dragging a support column down with it.
Two thousand tonnes of steel and concrete smashed into the tidal creek bed, spraying mud and shattering glass for hundreds of metres, and killing workers below.
Survivor Tommy Watson, a 23-year-old steel rigger at the time, told 9news.com.au in 2020, the impact "felt like an earthquake had struck".
The devastation also triggered a fire from a diesel storage unit, horrifically killing those who had survived the collapse.
Nearby trad
Oh No They Didn't
Cover Media
The Babylon Bee