The sinking of the Empress of Ireland

The sinking of the Canadian pacific railway liner Empress of Ireland near Quebec city in 1914 was,while not nearly as famous as the sinking of the Titanic,a very large disaster,with the loss of life totaling over a thousand passengers and crew.

On may 28th 1914 the Canadian Pacific Railway liner RMS Empress of Ireland departed from Quebec city and started her last journey up the St Lawrence river and into the Atlantic ocean towards England.
The during the night,while still in the St Lawrence river,a thick fog rolled in.Just before 2:00 in the morning of May 29th,just before the fog rolled in the Empress of Ireland spotted a ship about 8-10 miles away.This turned out to be the Norwegian collier SS Storstad which was heading to Montreal.

What happened next was a series of miscomunications and misinterpretations between the two ships,the mistakes were minor,but they sealed the fate of over a thousand people.Finally,just after 2:00 the Storstad rammed the Empress of Ireland on the starboard(right)side,water rushed into her and she sank in just 15 minutes,taking with her 1012 passengers and crew.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Empress_of_Ireland



That's all for now!

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