Events January January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). January 17 49 marines from the and are killed as a result of a collision in Barcelona harbour, Spain. January 18 Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires' disease. Australia's worst railway disaster at Granville, a suburb of Sydney, leaves 83 people dead. SFR Yugoslavia Prime minister Džemal Bijedić, his wife and 6 others are killed in a plane crash in Bosnia and Herzegovina. January 19 – An Ejército del Aire CASA C-207C Azor (registration T.7-15) plane crashes into the side of a mountain near Chiva, on approach to Valencia Airport in Spain, killing all 11 people on board. January 20 – Jimmy Carter is sworn in as the 39th President of the United States. January 23 – Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India calls for fresh elections to the Lok Sabha, and releases all political prisoners. January 24 – The Massacre of Atocha occurs, during the Spanish transition to democracy. February February 2 – The Congress Party of India, led by Indira Gandhi, splits with Jagjivan Ram and other senior leaders, forming Congress for Democracy. This party later merges with the Janata Party. February 3 – In northern Japan a blizzard piles snow on rooftops, causing many to collapse killing at least 31 people. February 4 – Eleven CTA commuters are killed when an elevated train derails from the Loop in central Chicago, United States. February 7 – The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 24 (Viktor Gorbatko, Yury Glazkov) to dock with the Salyut 5 space station. February 18 – American Space Shuttle program: First test flight of Space Shuttle Enterprise mated to the Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. February 23 – Óscar Romero, an outspoken opponent of violence, becomes Archbishop of San Salvador, El Salvador. February 28 – Queen Elizabeth II opens the Parliament of New Zealand. March March 4 – The 1977 Vrancea earthquake in the Vrancea Mountains of Romania kills 1,500. March 8 – The Australian parliament is opened by Elizabeth II in her capacity as Queen of Australia. March 9 – Hanafi Siege: Approximately a dozen armed Hanafi Movement members take over 3 buildings in Washington, D.C., killing 1 person