The dispatcher died a few weeks after the crash. He had a car accident, but police said it was not suicide. Because the dispatcher could not be asked, investigating the crash was difficult and took about a year. In the end, it was decided that human error was the cause for the accident. Nobody could find out the exact happenings on that evening, and so the case never went before a court. The passenger train was badly damaged and had to be destroyed. The locomotive of the freight train was repaired and stayed in service until 2001.
The victims were buried on 2 June 1971. More than 10,000 people attended the funeral, and all shops in Radevormwald were closed on that day. Many important people went to the funeral, like Chancellor Willy Brandt, and the Minister of Transport. The victims were buried together in a large grave on the Radevormwald cemetery. Later, a memorial was built near the graves as well.
The Deutsche Bundesbahn, the company who was responsible for the railway, changed the lanterns used by the dispatchers. They would not show a red light any more, so that red and green could not be confused any more. They also built the successors of the type of railbus that crashed sturdier, because some people said they had been built too light.
The line from Wuppertal to Radevormwald was closed in 1976.
Walter Guinness, 1st Baron Moyne
Walter Edward Guinness, 1st Baron Moyne DSO & Bar PC (29 March 1880-6 November 1944) was a British politician. Guinness was born in Dublin, Ireland.
From 1907 to 1931 he was Conservative MP for Bury St Edmunds, and saw service in World War I at Passchendaele, earning a medal and bar (second award).
He was killed in 1944 in Cairo, Egypt by the Jewish terrorist group Lehi. His assassination was said to be a message to the British government against British imperialism. Guinness was selected because he was believed to be anti Jewish and made statements supporting sending all Jews in Europe to the African island of Madagascar.
Modern Talking
Modern Talking was a German dance pop duo consisting of Thomas Anders and Dieter Bohlen. Their music was often classified as Europop. Modern Talking is, by sales, the most successful and popular group in Germany, and they a number of hit singles reaching the top-5 in many countries. Some of their most popular and widely known singles are "You're My Heart, You're My Soul", "You Can Win If You Want", "Cheri Cheri Lady", "Brother Louie", "Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. for Love)" and "Geronimo's Cadillac".
Modern Talking's first period of activity was from 1984 to 1987. The duo reunified in 1998 and made a successful comeback, releasing more music from 1998 to 2003. Modern Talking's sound, however, was rather different from its original 1980s sound after its reunion. The duo came back in 1998 recording their materials based on what the demand was in central European music markets at the time in the late 1990s, which required their original 1980s mellow Europop sound to switch into 1990s up-tempo Eurodance. The duo released singles which again entered the top-10 not only in their home country but also abroad. Some of those singles were "You're My Heart, You're My Soul '98", "Brother Louie '98", and "You Are Not Alone".
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, also called the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake (known by the scientific community), was a great underwater earthquake. It happened at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time) December 26, 2004.
The epicenter of the earthquake was off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. At first, the earthquake was measured as a 9.0 on the Richter scale. It was the longest ever recorded ocean earthquake. It lasted between 500 (8.3 minutes) and 600 (10 minutes) seconds. It was so powerful that it caused the entire Earth to vibrate. It started other earthquakes as far away as Iceland.
The large movement of earth under the water caused a very large and powerful tsunami. The tsunami was called the "Asian tsunami", or the "Boxing Day tsunami" in Australia, Canada, England, and South Africa because it happened on the 26th of December 2004 (Boxing Day). It spread all over the Indian Ocean. The tsunami caused heavy damage to countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. It also devastated the eastern coast of India, such as the states of Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.
Waves as high as 30m (100ft) killed many people and damaged or destroyed a lot of buildings and other property. Over 225,000 people died or were not found after the tsunami. The wave did damage in East Africa as far away as South Africa (8000km/ 5000mi) where as many as 8 people died because of high water caused by the wave. Because of how much damage was caused and the number of people the earthquake affected, over $7 billion (USD) was donated to help rebuild the areas damaged.
History of Taiwan
Taiwan (minus the Pescadores) is an island of eastern Asia. Its first people were related to Oceanic people with small numbers of Chinese. After the arrival of the Dutch in the 1600s, many Chinese moved to Taiwan to work. Few European people moved to Taiwan, and the native people married with Chinese or moved away from the west side of the island. When the Qing dynasty began in China, a supporter of the old Ming dynasty hid in Taiwan. Eventually the Qing came to Taiwan, defeated him, and added Taiwan to China.
Taiwan remained Chinese territory through most of the Qing dynasty until it was taken by Japan in 1895. Taiwan became a colony of Japan for fifty years until the end of World War Two. For a brief time it was under the control of China through the Guomindang government, but that government lost a civil war and moved to Taiwan. The rule of the Guomindang is considered controversial today. Some criticize its treatment of the people of Taiwan, but others focus on positive political and economic change that it made.
In the 1980s, the government became more democratic. This has also been controversial because it allows different political parties to compete. The Democratic Progressive Party gained influence. During this time, Taiwan has officially been called the Republic of China but has acted independently of China. The People's Republic of China demands that Taiwan must become a part of China, while most Taiwanese debate the appropriate political status for today. These perspectives make complications in the politics of Taiwan.
The original people to move to Taiwan can be called the Aboriginal people. They have many similarities with others societies called Austronesian. Chinese historians have mentioned Taiwan several times since its Three Kingdoms period, although it was considered a land of barbarians.
About 50000 years ago was called the "Old Stone Age" in Taiwan. At that time, people hit rocks against each other to make tools. The most famous culture of Taiwanese old stone age is Changping Culture. The Changping culture's monument is the Eight Gods' Hole Monument in Taitung Conty.
About 5000 years ago was the "New Stone Age". People in New Stone Age sharpened stones to make tools. We can take New Stone Age into three parts. The most famous cultures are the Tapenken culture, the Beinan culture, and the Yuanshan culture. The Tapenken culture monument is the Tapenken Monument (also known as T.P.K.) in Taipei, the Beinan culture's monument is the Puyuma Relics in Taitung Conty, and the Yuanshan culture's monument is the Yuanshan Monument in Taipei City.
About 2000 years ago was the "Metal Age". In the Metal Age, people used metal to make tools, and started trading. The most famous culture in Metal Age is the Thirteen Hangs Cultures. Its monument is the Thirteen Hangs Monument in Taipei County.