h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

An excellent entry. Disasters like these should be remembered to help prevent them happening again. For example the causes of the tragedy at Hillsborough seem to have been forgotten in Jo'burg, South Africa.
Responsibility needs to be placed at the right door. Individuals should not be made to carry the load. Systems must be in place to prevent errors of judgement being made. Foot soldiers should not be held responsible for executive mistakes. How is this to be done?

The last question was answered by "the aftermath" in the article...

The business of responsibility is difficult. Again and again people support companies or government in doing things the cheap way, and building or ignoring hazards, in the name of employment. People in economically depressed areas or nations will allow many situations - underpaid workers, lax safety rules, etc. in order to attract business or money. Often, no one supports these policies more strongly than the victims themselves - until disaster strikes. Business and government leaders, often utterly without a shred of ethics or compassion to begin with, are encouraged strongly by employees, shareholders and voters in these courses of action; those leaders who DO resist are often out of work or out of office. After a tragedy, everyone wants a single entity to blame, but in reality, it is often hard to find anyone whose hands aren't a little dirty, when people are honest about their own actions in ignoring or supporting the institutions most closely identified with allowing or causing the disaster.

there's a difference in that employees know that if they complain about lax safety they run the risk of losing their jobs. employers, shareholders and government don't have that excuse.

I was only six (on that very day). I recall my family being so devastated on my birthday. I did not understand it then, but since, of all the disasters before or since and of all the words in the English or Welsh language, if my attention is ever drawn to the word "Aberfan" I cannot but cry. My sympathy with all those affected.