Horror collapse of world's third

May 28, 2023

The Warsaw Radio Tower, formerly the third tallest structure in the world, fell during a horror collapse where the cause of the propaganda mast's destruction is still shrouded in mystery

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The former third-tallest structure in the world met its end after a horror collapse, with the reasons behind it still shrouded in mystery.

Collapsing on this day in 1991, the Warsaw Radio Tower was initially built to spread Communist propaganda across Europe, with the Polish-based radio mast a major tool for the USSR.

But after the fall of the Communist block, the tower soon followed, with a catastrophic failure leading to the collapse of the mast.

READ MORE: Over 13,000 people evacuated from German city after unexploded WWII bomb is found

Reasons behind the collapse are still unconfirmed, but reports from the time indicate failures in construction and wire failures which snapped and led to the collapse of the third-tallest structure in the world.

Measuring in at an impressive 2120ft tall, the radio mast falls short of being the tallest tower to have ever existed, but came close during its use between the years 1974 and 1991.

It had surpassed the KVLY-TV mast in North Dakota, United States upon completion and was the world's tallest structure for a time.

The Burj Khalifa in Dubai now holds the acclaimed tallest building title, and the Warsaw Radio Tower would be hard pressed to compete for the spot again considering its horror collapse occurred 32 years ago.

Said collapse is believed to have occurred when frayed guy wires, main cables holding the tower up, were disconnected.

The lack of support from fewer main cables holding up the tower put too much strain on the rest of the cables holding the mast up, and soon the remaining support beams twisted and snapped.

When it collapsed, the towering build is said to have taken out a crane positioned nearby, which soon led to further troubles for both the construction coordinator and division chief of the company responsible for overseeing the tower.

Both men were sentenced to two and a half years in prison, although the construction manager's sentence was dropped to six months.

The duo's jail time was a direct response to the catastrophe, which is still shrouded in mystery as the foreman of the site did not keep an accurate construction log of the disaster.

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