On this day, in 1972, a total of 11 Israelites from the Olympic team were held as hostages and later killed by Palestinian terrorists during the Munich Olympics. We take a look at other dreadful disasters that have occurred in the world of sports:
Munich Olympics Massacre - 5-6 September, 1972
During the ongoing Summer Olympics in Munich, a Palestinian group known as 'Black September' held 11 members of the Israel Olympics team hostage and demanded the release of 234 of their political prisoners who were held at a jail in Israel. The terrorist killed 6 Israeli coaches and 5 Israeli athletes. A total of 17 were reported dead which also included 5 Black September members and a German police officer.
Accra Sports Stadium Disaster - 9 May, 2001
One hundred and tweny-nine football fans in Ghana died after a horrific stampede broke out during a game between Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko. The stampede broke out after the referee of the match gave a controversial decision. The police personnel present at the stadium began to fire teargas which led to the aggravating the incident.
Munich Air Disaster - 6 February, 1958
A British European Airlines flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway in West Germany. The plane carried members of the Manchester United football team who were returning home from a European Cup match. This crash killed a total of 23 people from the 44 on board.