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Tragedies - Here are some of the most gruesome tragedies of the past 20 years in Australia.

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1998 - On December 2, five volunteer firefighters perished in the Linton bushfires trying to save their community from the flames.

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1998 - The 1998 Sydney to Hobart yacht race saw only 44 of 115 boats reach Hobart. Five boats were lost at sea, and six sailors drowned. 

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1992 to 1999 - John Bunting, Robert Wagner, and James Vlassakis were responsible for 12 murders in Snowtown, SA between 1992 and 1999.

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1999 - On December 2, in Glenbrook, NSW, seven people were killed and 51 injured when two trains collided.

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2000 - During August and September a heatwave hit south-east Queensland, killing 22 people.

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2001 - Big Day Out in Sydney was tragic this year. During the Limp Bizkit set on January 26, a teenage fan sustained fatal injuries.

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2001 - November 18 saw eight killed in an explosion on a cargo ship near Dampier, WA.

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2002 - An airplane crashed shortly after take off near Hamilton Island, QLD on September 27. All six people aboard died, including five foreign nationals.

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2005 - A heatwave in SA coupled with high winds led to a bushfire sweeping throughout the Eyre Peninsula in SA over January 9 to 11.

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2006 - On January 2 there was a horrific plane crash in which a crew of five skydivers died at Willowbank, QLD.

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2006 - In a tragic road accident on February 18, six teenagers perished when a car ploughed through the group in Cardross, VIC.

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2007 - A train collided with a truck at a level crossing near Kerang, VIC on June 5, killing 11 and injuring dozens.

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2008 - When two boats collided on May 1 in Sydney Harbour, six were killed and nine injured.

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2009 - During 2009 there was also the swine flu pandemic across the country.

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2009 - There were 37,537 confirmed cases of swine flu and 191 confirmed deaths.

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2009 - A record-breaking heatwave spread through south-east Australia between January 25 and February 9, leaving a death toll of 374.

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2009 - Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria came on February 7 due to the heatwave. A devastating 173 people died.

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2009 - On July 18, the massacre of the Lin Family occurred in North Epping, NSW. Robert Xie killed five family members.

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2010 - One of the worst floods in Australia's history occurred 2010 to 2011 in Queensland. A total of 38 people died and six were missing.

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2011 - On November 18, a Quakers Hill nursing home was set alight by nurse Roger Dean. Eleven people perished in the blaze.

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2012 - A plane crash in Gympie, QLD on October 1 saw the death of all six on board.

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2013 - On March 28, in Melbourne's CBD, a wall collapsed, killing three pedestrians.

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2014 - An avalanche on Mt Bogong, VIC buried two snowboarders on July 10.

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2014 - In Lockhart, NSW, Geoff Hunt murdered his wife and their three children, then committed suicide, on September 9.

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2014 - Martins Place, NSW, saw a horrific terrorist act on December 16 when the customers and staff of a Lindt Cafe were taken hostage. Two hostages were killed.

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2014 - Another mass murder occurred on December 19 in Manoora, QLD. A woman killed eight children – seven of her children and her nephew.

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2015 - On May 2, flooding in Caboolture, QLD killed five, and many more lives were lost from road deaths when cars were swept off roads.

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2016 - Major flooding occurred throughout TAS, ACT, and NSW over June 5 to 8. Six people died.

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2016 - Severe asthma attacks took nine lives during a thunderstorm in Melbourne on November 21, with 8,500 people seeking hospital treatment.

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2017 - On January 20, James Gargasoulas drove along Bourke Street Mall in Victoria. He killed six people and injured more than 20 others.

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