Ship tragedy. The largest peacetime shipwreck in history. Tragedy on the Baltic Sea

Over hundreds of years of sailing on various ships, sailboats and barges across the vast seas and oceans, many different accidents and shipwrecks have occurred. Films have even been made about some of them, the most popular of which, of course, is Titanic. But which shipwrecks were the largest in terms of ship size and number of victims? In this ranking, we answer this question by presenting the largest maritime disasters.

11

British ranking opens passenger airliner, which was torpedoed by the German submarine U-20 on May 7, 1915, in an area designated by the Kaiser's government as a submarine warfare zone. The ship, sailing with a blacked-out name and not raising any flag above itself, sank in 18 minutes, 13 kilometers from the coast of Ireland. 1,198 of the 1,959 people on board were killed. The destruction of this ship turned public opinion in many countries against Germany and contributed to the US entry into the First world war two years later.

10

The single-screw steamer had a capacity of 7142 register tons, a length of 132 meters, a width of 17 meters, and a maximum speed of 11 knots. On April 12, 1944, a steamship with explosives with a total weight of more than 1,500 tons began unloading at the Bombay port pier. There were other cargoes on board - 8,700 tons of cotton, 128 gold bars, sulfur, wood, engine oil, etc. The ship was loaded in violation of safety regulations. At about 2 p.m., a fire started on board, and no action helped to extinguish it. At 16:06 an explosion occurred, which created a tidal wave of such force that the ship “Jalampada” with a displacement of almost 4000 tons ended up on the roof of a 17-meter warehouse. After 34 min. a second explosion occurred.

Burning cotton scattered within a radius of 900 meters from the epicenter and set everything on fire: ships, warehouses, houses. A strong wind from the sea drove a wall of fire towards the city. The fires were extinguished only after 2 weeks. It took about 7 months to restore the port. Official statistics announced 1,376 deaths, and 2,408 people were admitted to hospitals. The fire destroyed 55,000 tons of grain, thousands of tons of seeds, oil, oil; a huge amount of military equipment and almost one square mile of urban areas. 6 thousand companies went bankrupt, 50 thousand people lost their jobs. Many small and 4 large ships, tens.

9

It was with this ship that the most famous disaster on the water occurred. The British White Star Line was the second of three Olympic-class steamships and the largest passenger liner in the world at the time of its construction. Gross tonnage 46,328 register tons, displacement 66,000 tons. The length of the ship is 269 meters, width is 28 meters, height is 52 meters. IN engine room there were 29 boilers and 159 coal fireboxes. Maximum speed 25 knots. During her maiden voyage on April 14, 1912, she collided with an iceberg and sank 2 hours and 40 minutes later. There were 2224 people on board. Of these, 711 people were saved, 1513 died. The Titanic disaster became legendary, and several feature films were made based on its plot.

8

In the harbor Canadian city Halifax On December 6, 1917, the French military cargo ship Mont Blanc, which was fully loaded with one explosive - TNT, pyroxylin and picric acid, collided with the Norwegian ship Imo. As a result of a powerful explosion, the port and a significant part of the city were completely destroyed. About 2,000 people died as a result of the explosion under the rubble of buildings and due to the fires that broke out after the explosion. Approximately 9,000 people were injured and 400 lost their sight. The explosion in Halifax is one of the most powerful explosions caused by mankind; this explosion is considered the most powerful explosion of the pre-nuclear era.

7

This French auxiliary cruiser served as the flagship and took part in the neutralization of the Greek fleet. Displacement - 25,000 tons, length - 166 meters, width - 27 meters, power - 29,000 horsepower, speed - 20 knots, cruising range - 4,700 miles at 10 knots. She sank in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Greece on February 26, 1916 after a torpedo attack by the German submarine U-35. Of the 4,000 people on board, 3,130 died and 870 were saved.

6

After 1944, this German passenger ocean liner was converted into a floating hospital, participated in the evacuation of mainly wounded military personnel and refugees from East Prussia from the advancing Red Army. The liner left the port of Pillau on February 9, 1945 and headed to Kiel, with more than 4,000 people on board - wounded military personnel, soldiers, refugees, medical staff and crew members. On the night of February 10 at 00:55, the Soviet submarine S-13 torpedoed the liner with two torpedoes. The ship sank 15 minutes later, killing 3,608 and saving 659 people. When torpedoing the liner, the submarine commander was convinced that in front of him was not a passenger liner, but a military cruiser.

5

The Philippine-registered passenger ferry Dona Paz sank on December 20, 1987 at about 10 p.m. off the island of Marinduque after a collision with the tanker Vector. An estimated 4,375 people were killed, making it the worst peacetime maritime disaster.

4

This passenger and cargo ship of the Adzharia type was built at the Baltic Shipyard in Leningrad in 1928, and on November 7, 1941, it was sunk by the Germans near the coast of Crimea. The death toll was, according to various estimates, from 3,000 to 4,500 people. On the ship there were several thousand wounded soldiers and evacuated citizens, including personnel from 23 military and civilian hospitals, the leadership of the pioneer camp and part of the party leadership of Crimea. The loading of evacuees was in a hurry, and their exact number is not known. There is a version that the cause of this naval disaster was the criminal mistakes of the command of the Black Sea Fleet. The overcrowded ship, instead of making the transition to the Caucasus, was sent by the command to Yalta.

3

The cargo ship, built in Oslo, Norway, was launched on April 4, 1940. It was confiscated by the Germans after the occupation of Norway by Germany. At first it was used as a mock target for training the crews of German submarines. Later, the ship took part in the evacuation of people by sea from the advancing Red Army. It was armed with military cannons. This ship managed to make four trips, during which 19,785 people were evacuated. On the night of April 16, 1945, the ship, making its fifth voyage, was torpedoed by the Soviet submarine L-3, after which the Goya sank in the Baltic Sea. More than 6,900 people died in the disaster.

2

On May 3, 1945, a tragedy occurred in the Baltic Sea, killing approximately 8,000 people. The German liner Cap Arcona and the cargo ship Tilbeck, transporting prisoners from evacuating concentration camps, came under fire from British aircraft. As a result, more than 5,000 people died on the Cap Arcona, and about 2,800 on the Tilbek. According to one version, this raid was a mistake on the part of the British Air Force, which believed that there were German troops on the ships; according to another, the pilots were ordered to destroy everything enemy ships in the area.

1

The worst thing on the water happened to this German passenger liner, which since 1940 was converted into a floating hospital. During World War II it was used as an infirmary and dormitory for the 2nd submarine training brigade. The death of the ship, torpedoed on January 30, 1945 by the Soviet submarine S-13 under the command of A. I. Marinesko, is considered the largest disaster in maritime history- According to some historians, the actual losses could have been more than 9,000 people.

At 21:16 the first torpedo hit the bow of the ship, later the second blew up the empty swimming pool where the women of the naval auxiliary battalion were located, and the last hit the engine room. Through the joint efforts of the crew and passengers, some lifeboats were able to be launched into the water, but many people still found themselves in the icy water. Due to the strong roll of the ship, an anti-aircraft gun came off the deck and crushed one of the boats full of people. About an hour after the attack, the Wilhelm Gustloff completely sank.

On April 16, 1945, exactly 117 years after the death of Francisco Goya, the ship Goya was sunk by a torpedo attack by a Soviet submarine. This disaster, which claimed 7,000 lives, became the largest shipwreck in world history.

"Goya" was Norwegian cargo ship, requisitioned by the Germans. On April 16, 1945, things didn’t go well in the morning. A gloomy omen of the coming disaster was the bombardment to which the ship was subjected. Despite the defense, during the fourth raid the shell still hit bow"Goya". Several people were injured, but the ship remained afloat and they decided not to cancel the flight.

For Goya, this was the fifth evacuation flight from the advancing units of the Red Army. During four previous campaigns, almost 20,000 refugees, wounded and soldiers were evacuated.
Goya set off on its last voyage loaded to capacity. Passengers were in the passages, on the stairs, in the holds. Not everyone had documents, so the exact number of passengers has not yet been established, from 6000 to 7000. They all believed that the war was over for them, they made plans and were full of hope...

The ships (Goya was accompanied by a convoy) were already at sea when at 22:30 surveillance noticed an unidentified silhouette on the right side. Everyone was ordered to put on life-saving clothing. There were only 1,500 of them on board the Goya. In addition, one of the ships of the group, the Kronenfels, suffered a breakdown in the engine room. Waiting for the end repair work, the ships began to drift. An hour later the ships continued their journey.
At 23:45, Goya shuddered from a powerful torpedo attack. The Soviet submarine L-3, which was following the ships, began to operate.
Panic began at Goya. Jochen Hannema, a German tankman who became one of the few survivors, recalled: “Water rushed noisily from the huge holes created by the torpedoes. The ship broke into two parts and began to sink rapidly. All that was heard was the terrible roar of a huge mass of water.”
The huge ship, devoid of partitions, sank in just 20 minutes. Only 178 people survived.

"Wilhelm Gustlow"

On January 30, 1945, at 21:15, the S-13 submarine discovered in the Baltic waters the German transport "Wilhelm Gustlow", accompanied by an escort, on board which, according to modern estimates, was over 10 thousand people, most of whom were refugees from East Prussia : old people, children, women. But there were also German submarine cadets, crew members and other military personnel on the Gustlov.
Submarine captain Alexander Marinesko began the hunt. For almost three hours, the Soviet submarine followed the giant transport ship (the displacement of the Gustlov was over 25 thousand tons. For comparison, the steamship Titanic and the battleship Bismarck had a displacement of about 50 thousand tons).
Having chosen the moment, Marinesko attacked the Gustlov with three torpedoes, each of which hit the target. The fourth torpedo with the inscription “For Stalin” got stuck. The submariners miraculously managed to avoid an explosion on the boat.

While escaping pursuit from a German military escort, the C-13 was bombed by over 200 depth charges.

The sinking of the Wilhelm Gustlov is considered one of the largest disasters in maritime history. According to official data, 5,348 people died in it; according to some historians, real losses could exceed 9,000.

They were called "Ships of Hell." These were Japanese merchant ships used to transport prisoners of war and workers (actually slaves, who were called "romushi") to Japanese-occupied territories during World War II. The “ships of hell” were not officially part of the Japanese navy and had no identification marks, but the Allied forces sank them no less violently. In total for wartime 9 “Ships of Hell” were sunk, on which almost 25 thousand people died.

It is worth saying that the British and Americans could not help but know about the “cargo” that was transported on the ships, since the Japanese codes were deciphered.

The largest disaster occurred on September 18, 1944. The British submarine Tradewind torpedoed the Japanese ship Junyo Maru. Among the rescue equipment on the ship, filled to capacity with prisoners of war, there were two lifeboats and several rafts. On board were 4.2 thousand workers, 2.3 thousand prisoners of war, Americans, Australians, British, Dutch and Indonesians.

The conditions in which slaves had to survive on ships were simply terrifying. Many went crazy and died from exhaustion and stuffiness. When the torpedoed ship began to sink, the captives of the ship had no chance of salvation. The boats accompanying the “ship of hell” brought on board only the Japanese and a small part of the prisoners. In total, 680 prisoners of war and 200 romushi remained alive.

This was a case where the living envied the dead. The miraculously saved prisoners were sent to their destination - to construction railway to Sumatra. The chances of surviving there were not much greater than on the ill-fated ship.

"Armenia"

The cargo-passenger ship "Armenia" was built in Leningrad and was used on the Odessa-Batumi line. During the Great Patriotic War in August 1941, "Armenia" was converted into a medical transport ship. The side and deck began to be “decorated” with large red crosses, which, in theory, were supposed to protect the ship from attacks, but...

During the defense of Odessa, "Armenia" made 15 flights to the besieged city, from where more than 16 thousand people were taken on board. Last flight“Armenia” began a campaign from Sevastopol to Tuapse in November 1941. On November 6, having taken on board the wounded, almost the entire medical personnel of the Black Sea Fleet and civilians, the Armenia left Sevastopol.

At night the ship arrived in Yalta. The captain of the "Armenia" was forbidden to make the transition to Tuapse during daylight hours, but the military situation dictated otherwise. The port of Yalta did not have cover to protect against German air raids, and there were already German troops on the near approaches to the city. And there was practically no choice left...

At 8 o'clock in the morning on November 7, "Armenia" left Yalta and headed for Tuapse. At 11:25 the ship was attacked by a German torpedo bomber He-111 and sank less than 5 minutes after the torpedo hit the bow. Together with “Armenia”, from 4,000 to 7,500 people died, and only eight managed to escape. The causes of this terrible tragedy are still controversial.

"Dona Paz"

The sinking of the Dona Paz ferry is the largest shipwreck that occurred in peacetime. This tragedy became a cruel lesson exposing greed, unprofessionalism and sloppiness. The sea, as you know, does not forgive mistakes, and in the case of “Danya Paz” mistakes followed one after another.
The ferry was built in Japan in 1963. At that time it was called "Himeuri Maru". In 1975, it was profitably sold to the Philippines. Since then he has been exploited even more than mercilessly. Designed to carry a maximum of 608 passengers, it was usually packed to capacity, accommodating between 1,500 and 4,500 people.

Twice a week the ferry carried out passenger transportation along the route Manila - Tacloban - Catbalogan - Manila - Catbalogan - Tacloban - Manila. On December 20, 1987, the Doña Paz set sail on its last voyage from Tacloban to Manila. This flight was packed with maximum passengers - Filipinos were rushing to the capital for the New Year.

At ten in the evening of the same day, the ferry collided with the huge tanker Vector. The collision literally broke both ships in half, and thousands of tons of oil spilled across the ocean. The explosion caused a fire. The chances of salvation were reduced to almost zero. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the ocean at the site of the tragedy was swarming with sharks.

One of the survivors, Paquito Osabel, later recalled: " Neither the sailors nor the ship's officers reacted in any way to what was happening. Everyone demanded life jackets and boats, but they were not there. The cabinets in which the vests were stored were locked, and the keys could not be found. The boats were thrown into the water just like that, without any preparation. Panic, chaos, chaos reigned".

The rescue operation began only eight hours after the tragedy. 26 people were caught from the sea. 24 are passengers of the Donya Paz, two are sailors from the tanker Vector. Official statistics, which cannot be trusted, indicate the death of 1,583 people. More objective, independent experts claim that 4,341 people died in the disaster.

"Cap Arcona"

Cap Arcona was one of the largest passenger ships in Germany, with a displacement of 27,561 tons. Having survived almost the entire war, the Cap Arcona perished after the capture of Berlin by the Allied forces, when on May 3, 1945, the liner was sunk by British bombers.

Benjamin Jacobs, one of the prisoners who were at Cap Arcona, wrote in the book “The Dentist of Auschwitz”: “ Suddenly planes appeared. We could clearly see their identification marks. “These are the British!” Look, we are KaTsetniks! We are prisoners of concentration camps!” we shouted and waved our hands at them. We waved our striped camp caps and pointed to our striped clothes, but there was no compassion for us. The British began to throw napalm at the shaking and burning Cap Arcona. On the next approach, the planes descended, now they were at a distance of 15 m from the deck, we clearly saw the pilot’s face and thought that we had nothing to fear. But then bombs fell from the belly of the plane... Some fell onto the deck, others into the water... They shot at us and those who jumped into the water from machine guns. The water around the drowning bodies turned red".

Aboard the blazing Cap Arcona, more than 4,000 prisoners were burned alive or suffocated by smoke. Some prisoners managed to escape and jump into the sea. Those who managed to escape the sharks were picked up by trawlers. 350 prisoners, many of whom suffered from burns, managed to escape before the liner capsized. They swam ashore, but became victims of the SS men. A total of 5,594 people died on Cap Arcona.

"Lancasteria"

Western historiography prefers to remain silent about the tragedy that occurred on June 17, 1940. Moreover, a veil of oblivion covered this terrible catastrophe on the day it happened. This is due to the fact that on the same day France surrendered to Nazi troops, and Winston Churchill decided not to report anything about the death of the ship, as this could break the morale of the British. This is not surprising: the Lancastrian disaster was the largest mass death of the British during the entire Second World War, the number of victims exceeded the sum of the victims of the sinking of the Titanic and Luisitania.

The liner Lancastria was built in 1920 and was used as a military vessel after the outbreak of World War II. On June 17, he evacuated troops from Norway. A German Junkers 88 bomber spotted the ship and began bombing. The liner was hit by 10 bombs. According to official figures, there were 4,500 soldiers and 200 crew on board. About 700 people were saved. According to unofficial data published in Brian Crabb's book about the disaster, it is said that the number of victims is deliberately downplayed.

Shipwrecks... Such an incident is always shrouded in an aura of secrets, myths and legends. Famous shipwrecks are black pages of history, which can only be read by looking into depths of the sea. Sadly, majestic giant liners very often become victims of the raging waters of the seas and oceans.

The most famous shipwrecks became public knowledge. Today, there are many unofficial lists that name the most impressive ship disasters in the history of mankind. Below are just a few of those that have gone down in world history.

Wrecked ships

For many, the first thing that comes to mind is a story that shocked the whole world with its tragedy. It dwarfed any other shipwreck. This is the story of the Titanic... Although this story has become overgrown with many guesses and conjectures over time, everyone is still interested in knowing what really happened. The crew was so dazzled by the greatness of their ship and its superiority over other ships that for a time everyone became overconfident.

Possible causes of the tragedy

At that time, many said that a ship had finally been built that could not be sunk. But the reality turned out to be unpredictable. One night, the ship was traveling at full speed along its route, and the sailors were only able to notice the top of a huge block of ice rising above the surface of the water only at the very last moment. Urgent attempts were made to steer the ship away, but it was too late: the ship was wrecked. Almost at full speed, the Titanic hit an iceberg on its starboard side.

The ship breaks in half

Gradually, the lower tiers in the bow compartment of the ship begin to flood. Almost half of the vessel is filled with cold water Atlantic Ocean. A counterweight is created on the ship, causing it to be half submerged in the water. The body cannot withstand the monstrous load and breaks in half. Both parts of the broken ship lose electricity and sink. Eyewitnesses of the tragedy remember that terrible day with trembling, but still some facts remain in the shadows. For example, class discrimination against passengers.

Could more have been saved?

Some witnesses claim that individual lifeboats were only half full of passengers. Only a few people sat in them, and they set sail as quickly as possible, in fear that the boat would overfill and sink. As a result, far fewer passengers were saved than could have been the case. However, we should not forget that heroic deeds also took place that night. Many risked their lives to help others escape. Be that as it may, this disaster has become a symbol of arrogance.

complicated story

Another, no less tragic collision occurred with the ship "Admiral Nakhimov". It became a huge sensation of the twentieth century. A warm August day began with arrival at the port cruise ship. The city of Novorossiysk said goodbye to passengers who were soon to go on an exciting trip. Around the same time, a ship called "Peter Vasev" planned to enter the port. The crews of both ships were warned about each other and had to act carefully; no one had any idea that the ships would soon crash.

Who is guilty and is there any point in finding out now?

As a result of short negotiations, it was decided to disperse at the exit from the port on starboard sides. However, something went wrong, namely the automatic heading system failed. The technology is imperfect, we must never forget this. Shipwrecks are clear evidence of this. When it was noticed that the ship was moving at full speed straight towards the Admiral Nakhimov, the situation almost completely got out of control.

The cargo ship "Peter Vasev" crashed into a passenger liner and made a hole measuring eight by ten meters in its side. in eight minutes. Some of the circumstances under which the ship crashed raised questions among many. Why did the passenger ship sink like a stone if, according to the rules, it must have sufficient buoyancy to stay on the surface of the water for at least an hour after the crash? In addition, information was received that the captain followed the order of the port dispatcher and changed the route of the vessel. There will be many gaps and white spots in this story.

However, the most inconsolable fact is the death of almost half a thousand people. Perhaps the scale of the disaster would not have been so terrible if it had been possible to launch lifeboats. But what could be done in just eight minutes? It takes at least half an hour to arrange for people to board one boat. And this is under favorable conditions.

In the case when the Nakhimov ship crashed, there was neither time nor factors allowing people to escape in lifeboats. Over time after the disaster, it becomes increasingly difficult to find out the true circumstances of the crash. Surely the true facts lie in the depths of the water, so there is no point in speculating, because time, like human lives, cannot be returned back.

These are just two stories, but they are not the only ones. The following list of the most famous shipwrecks will show that the wrecks largest airliners- is far from uncommon.

• SS America.
• "Discoverer of the World"
• "Mediterranean sky"
• M. B. Captayannis.
• BOS 400.
• "Fort Shevchenko".
• "Gospel".
• "SS Maheno".
• "Santa Maria".
• "Dimitrios."
• "Olympia".

The ships took years to build, solemnly left their native ports into the wind and eventually sank, ran aground, leaving only fragments and piles of iron in their memory.

The top 10 lists only civilian shipwrecks that occurred in peacetime or in neutral waters; during wars, more terrible shipwrecks were recorded, for example, the death of the Armenia liner, which was transporting more than 9,000 refugees from Sevastopol.

1. Dona Paz Ferry, Philippines, December 20, 1987 (4,386 people)

The worst disaster at sea, killing more than 4,000 people, this terrible shipwreck occurred on December 20, 1987, when the Philippine ferry Dona Paz collided with the oil tanker Vector in the Tablas Strait, 180 kilometers south of Manila.The ferry was completely filled with passengers eager to reach their destination before the Christmas holidays began.Although the sea was calm and visibility was perfect, the lack of competence of the crew on both ships led to this disaster.As soon as the ships collided, 8,800 barrels of oil and gasoline from the tanker ignited and almost no one survived this terrible fire.

2. Steamship Kiyangiya, China, December 3, 1948 (3,335 people)

Chinese passenger ship Kiyangiya was shipwrecked on December 3, 1948 while sailing from Shanghai to Ningbo. The ship was transporting refugees from China; officially 2,000 people were registered on it, but as it turned out later, the number of passengers was approximately 2 times more than stated. During the transition, he ran into a Japanese mine and began to quickly sink, about3,335 people died in the shipwreck and only about 700 were able to escape.

3. Ferry Le Joola, Senegal, September 26, 2002 (1,863 people)

One of the worst maritime disasters in the history of the world. The ferry was carrying more than 2,000 passengers from the port of Senegal when it capsized in 5 minutes 35 kilometers off the coast of Gambia on September 26, 2002. The reason for the death of the ferry was overload, while it was possible to take on board no more than 550 passengers, the ferry took on board more than 2,000 people.

4. Steamship Hoi Chu, China, November 8, 1945 (1,800 people)

The mass loss of 1,800 people occurred when the Chinese steamer Hoi Chu, en route to Hong Kong from Canton and carrying about 2,000 military personnel, 100 civilians and crew, sank in the Bocca Tigris at the mouth of the Canton River. The cause of death was a mine left after the war; only 300 people survived the disaster.

5. Steamship Sultan, USA, April 27, 1865 (1,600 people)

The explosion of the Sultan, which killed nearly 1,600 passengers, was perhaps the worst maritime disaster in the history of the United States.The Sultan was transporting about 2,300 prisoners of war down the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, as well as a few civilian passengers and crew.Just a couple of hours after midnight on April 27, 1865, one of the Sultan's three boilers exploded, after which the ship quickly sank.

6. Titanic, UK/USA, April 15, 1912 (1,514 people)

The 20th century tragedy involving the superliner Titanic has inspired writers and directors for decades, and dozens of books and films have been written and filmed about the disaster. One of the largest and most luxury liners of its time, it set off on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York, USA, on April 10, 1912. Many believed that the Titanic, built using the most advanced technologies of its time, was unsinkable. However, nothing is guaranteed on the high seas and on April 14 the ship collided with an iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland. As a result of the collision, its hull was damaged and the liner sank, killing 1,514 people in this disaster.

7. Steamship Taiping, China, January 27, 1949 (1,500 people)

Nearly 1,500 passengers, mostly Chinese expatriates bound for Taiwan, set sail from Shanghai aboard the SS Taiping in search of better life. They all died on the fateful day of January 27, 1949, when the ferry was rammed by another Chinese ship.

8. Ferry Toya Maru, Japan, September 26, 1954 (1,153 people)

The most severe Typhoon, called No. 15 in Japan, without any name just a number, killed almost 1,153 passengers aboard the commercial ferry Toya Maru on September 26, 1954. The event is presented as the worst civilian shipwreck in Japanese history. The ferry operated between Hakodate on the island of Hokkaido and Aomori on the island of Honshu. The previously scheduled ferry departure was canceled in anticipation of the typhoon's approach. However, the captain decided to sail in the evening, believing that the worst part of the storm had already passed. It was a serious mistake; after leaving the harbor, the crew lost control of the ship and it sank off the coast of Japan. 1,153 passengers and crew members disappeared into the depths of the ocean.

9. General Slocum, 1,021 killed

June 15, 1904, marked as a dark day in the history of New York, was the day when the largest shipwreck occurred in the city's waters. The General Slocum, a New York City sightseeing ship, was carrying 1,342 passengers, mostly members of the Lutheran Church congregation, to a church picnic in Locust Grove, Long Island. The passengers were mostly Germans from the little Germany area of ​​Manhattan, including a large group of women and children.

The cause of the ship's death was the disgusting preparation of the crew and captain of the ship; when leaving the port, after 20 minutes old furniture began to smolder in one of the ship's rooms, the fire was noticed in time, the crew quickly rolled out a fire hose, but when the water was turned on, the hose broke in several places, due to which it was not possible to extinguish the fire, which resulted in the sinking of the ship. It took the fire only half an hour to destroy the steamer.

10. Salam-98, 1,101 people died

On February 3, 2006, Salam 98, a ship carrying more than 1,300 passengers and an additional 103 crew members, sank in the waters of the Red Sea, killing 1,101 people. Ship from Saudi Arabia, the port of Duba went to Egypt, the port of Safaga. Most of the passengers were Egyptians working in Saudi Arabia and returning home from work.

The captain of the ferry, Syed Omar, bears responsibility for the incident, since when the fire broke out on the upper deck, the ferry was near the shore, but the captain decided to go to the Egyptian port anyway, his actions led to the death of more than 1,100 people.

The world is familiar with many shipwrecks that shocked us with their scale and horror of what happened. Domestic history knows many terrible shipwrecks that resulted in significant human casualties.

Top most terrible shipwrecks of the 20th century

Some water disasters occurred far out to sea, and some occurred in coastal areas due to collisions with reefs. The consequences can be frightening. Next, let's look at some of the most terrible shipwrecks in human history.

Steamship "Sultana" (SS Sultana)

The ship transported soldiers released from captivity. 1,653 people became victims of the disaster, 741 people were saved. This shipwreck is the largest disaster of the 19th century in terms of the number of victims.

Ferry Donja Paz

Colliding with the tanker, the ferry literally broke in half. A fire broke out and passengers died in the fire. The number of victims of this terrible shipwreck is 4375 people.

Liner "Wilhelm Gustloff"

During the Second World War, the liner served as a hospital, and later became a barracks for submarine sailors. In early 1945, the ship was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine. According to official data, 5,348 people died in that shipwreck. Historians call a different number of victims - at least 9 thousand people.

The wreck of the Titanic

The shipwreck killed 1,513 people. Only 711 passengers were saved. The Titanic disappeared under water in 160 minutes. This terrible disaster was reflected in cinema: in 1997, director James Cameron shot a film of the same name. The main roles in the film were played by Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Cruise ship Costa Concordia

6 people found guilty in the crash of the Costa Concordia

The main culprit was the captain of the liner, Francesco Schettino, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison. After this incident, the rules were tightened maritime shipping and passengers undergoing pre-trip briefing.

The most terrible shipwrecks in Russian history

"Armenia" sank in the fall of 1941 near Crimea in just four minutes. The ship carried evacuated residents and wounded Red Army soldiers. Five thousand people died, and only 8 passengers were able to survive.

One of the largest water disasters in the USSR was the crash of the Admiral Nakhimov. It went from Novorossiysk to Sochi, carrying 1243 people. Due to the fact that the ship rammed a grain carrier, a hole was formed in it, and it sank in 7 minutes. This shipwreck occurred at the end of August 1986, and 423 people died.

The name “Novorossiysk” in the USSR was given to a ship that previously belonged to the Italian Navy. At the end of October 1955, an explosion occurred in the bow of the ship, which created a hole of 150 square meters. meters. The Novorossiysk sank with 604 people on board.

In September 1994, the ferry Estonia, leaving the port of Tallinn, was caught in a storm, lost its bow, causing it to fall on its side and drown. The rescue operation was complicated by a natural disaster that left 852 people missing and killed.

Our contemporaries know about the tragedy that occurred with the nuclear submarine Kursk. The crash occurred in August 2000 due to explosions on board. The crew consisted of 118 people, there were no survivors.

In July 2011, another terrible shipwreck occurred in Russian history - the sinking of the motor ship "Bulgaria", which was cruising along the Volga. With a capacity of 140 people, there were 208 passengers on board. About 120 people were killed, many of them children.

The Komsomolets submarine crashed in the Norwegian Sea. This happened in April 1989 - the cause was a fire in the aft compartment. The crew consisted of 69 people, only 27 crew members managed to survive.

The worst water disaster in human history

The collapse of the Goya is called the bloodiest disaster. It happened during the Second World War. The ship was used as an evacuation ship. At night, a Soviet submarine caught up with the Goya and attacked the ship. After 10 minutes, the Goya ship, along with all its passengers, sank under water. On land, major incidents involving human casualties occurred no less frequently. We invite you to learn more about the worst disasters in history.
Subscribe to our channel in Yandex.Zen