History Today: When world’s largest airship ‘Hindenburg’ went up in flames

On May 6, 1937, the German airship Hindenburg caught fire and crashed while attempting to dock in New Jersey, killing 36 of the 97 people on board. As the largest airship ever built, its destruction led to the end of passenger travel by airships. Also on this day in 1994, Queen Elizabeth II and French President Francois Mitterrand officially opened the Channel Tunnel, creating the first direct link between Britain and mainland Europe since the Ice Age

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