Friday the 13th: History of terrible events that happened on the 'cursed day'

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Friday the 13th has long been termed an unlucky day. Its superstitious status has now passed into cultural ubiquity with people rarely knowing anything about it. However, there are recorded tragedies in the past years that struck on Friday the 13th. Did these events happen because of a coincidence, something brewing for long or something sinister? No one knows for sure. Here are 10 terrible events that happened on Friday the 13th. (Image: Shutterstock)

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Buckingham Palace bombed: During WWII, Buckingham Palace was bombed by the German air force on September 13, 1940. The royal family was in residence when the bombs had hit. (Image: Reuters)

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Cruise ship sinks in Italy: The Costa Concordia sank after running aground on January 13, 2012. It was the largest passenger ship to ever sink, with twice as many people on board as the Titanic. (Image: Reuters)

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Andes Plane Crash: Uruguayan Flight 571 crash landed in the Andes mountains while en route Chile. Rescue efforts were called off early but survivors who had to resort to cannibalism were rescued after two of them managed to trek to civilization and alert the authorities. (Representational image: Shutterstock

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Worst Plane Crash in Russia: Aeroflot 217 crashed on October 13, 1972, the exact same date as the Uruguayan Flight crash. The Aeroflot crash was the deadliest in Russian history with all 174 people onboard dying as a result. (Image: Reuters)

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Bhola ravaged Bangladesh: On November 13, 1970 the Bhola cyclone resulted in the loss of lives of 150,000-550,000 people in Bangladesh. The mismanagement after the cyclone also kicked off the Bangaldeshi War of Independence, as the area was still under Pakistan. (Image: Reuters)

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Black Friday bushfires: Bushfires spread through Australia on January 13, 1939 killing 71 people in the province of Victoria. (Representational Image: Reuters)

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The Catalina Affair A Swedish military plan that was secretly spying on the Russians for NATO went missing on June 13, 1952. The two Catalina planes that were sent to search for it afterwards were also shot down. (Representational image: Shutterstock)

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Murder of Kitty Genovese: Kitty Genovese was assaulted and murdered on March 13, 1964, inside her apartment by Winston Moseley. The crime was heard by 38 witnesses, none of whom called the police or helped, giving rise to the term "bystander effect" or Genovese Syndrome. The murder is also credited as one of the factors that pushed the emergency 911 system into place. (Image: Shutterstock)

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US market crash: On October 13, 1989 the American stock market experienced one of its worst crashes after the sale of the United Airlines fell through. (Image: Reuters)

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Eradication of the Knights Templar: In perhaps one of the earliest recorded unfortunate events to fall on Friday the 13th, King Phillip IV of France ordered the arrest and execution of hundreds of Knights Templar, a religious order with a variety of roles, on October 13, 1307. (Representational image: Shutterstock)