Portal:Current events/2003 February 1

February 1, 2003 (Saturday)

Space Shuttle Columbia incident: The Space Shuttle Columbia was reported to have disintegrated over Texas on its final approach to a landing after its 28th space mission. All seven crew members were killed in the disaster. It was later discovered that a piece of foam insulation had broken off the external fuel tank and punctured a hole in the left wing during launch.
A crowded passenger train and a freight train collided head on and burst into flames in northwestern Zimbabwe, killing 40 people and injuring about 60. The wreckage was still burning 14 hours after the collision.
Seven high school students from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, were killed when an avalanche swept over them on a school ski trip. The remaining ten members of the ski trip survived.