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Titanic Disaster: Causes and Casualties

The Titanic sank after colliding with an iceberg on April 14-15, 1912, while traveling at high speed despite iceberg warnings, leading to multiple breaches and flooding. The tragedy occurred in the North Atlantic, resulting in approximately 1,500 deaths out of 2,224 passengers and crew, with only about 710 survivors due to insufficient lifeboats and poor evacuation protocols. This disaster highlights the limitations of engineering and the critical need for safety measures.

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40 views2 pages

Titanic Disaster: Causes and Casualties

The Titanic sank after colliding with an iceberg on April 14-15, 1912, while traveling at high speed despite iceberg warnings, leading to multiple breaches and flooding. The tragedy occurred in the North Atlantic, resulting in approximately 1,500 deaths out of 2,224 passengers and crew, with only about 710 survivors due to insufficient lifeboats and poor evacuation protocols. This disaster highlights the limitations of engineering and the critical need for safety measures.

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bedinamulema
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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1° Why did the Titanic sink ?

The Titanic sank because it collided with an iceberg on the night of April
14–15, 1912. The ship, advertised as “unsinkable,” was traveling at a high
speed of approximately 22.5 knots, despite warnings of icebergs in the
area. The collision occurred on the starboard side of the ship, creating
multiple breaches below the waterline. These breaches caused flooding in
five of the ship’s watertight compartments, while the ship was designed to
remain afloat with up to four compartments flooded. The structural
weaknesses of the rivets and steel, combined with the massive size of the
iceberg, made the damage catastrophic. The Titanic’s design, while
advanced for its time, was not sufficient to withstand this level of impact.

2° The setting of the tragedy

The tragedy of the Titanic unfolded in the icy waters of the North Atlantic
Ocean, roughly 375 miles (600 kilometers) south of Newfoundland,
Canada. The night was exceptionally cold, and the sea was calm, with no
moonlight to illuminate the area. This made spotting icebergs extremely
difficult. The Titanic was on its maiden voyage, departing from
Southampton, England, and headed for New York City. It carried some of
the wealthiest individuals of the time, as well as many emigrants seeking
a new life in America. Despite its luxurious amenities and cutting-edge
engineering, the ship was unprepared for such a disaster, largely due to
overconfidence in its design.

3° How many people died, and how many survived ?

The Titanic carried approximately 2,224 passengers and crew members.


When the ship sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912, an estimated
1,500 people lost their lives. The exact number is uncertain due to
incomplete passenger records. Only about 710 people survived, many of
whom were rescued by the RMS Carpathia, which arrived hours later. The
high death toll was caused by several factors : insufficient lifeboats, poor
evacuation protocols, and the freezing temperatures of the Atlantic. Many
passengers and crew died of hypothermia in the icy water, as survival
times were only a few minutes in such conditions.
The Titanic’s sinking remains one of the deadliest peacetime maritime
disasters in history and serves as a sobering reminder of the limits of
human engineering and the importance of safety measures.

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