Sea disasters are the worst that can happen. Few people manage to escape in the middle of the endless ocean. A hundred years ago, the drama in the Atlantic became the most famous, although the shipwreck of the "Titanic" is far from the largest in terms of the number of victims. History knows other tragedies, not so famous, but sometimes more terrible.
Most destructive - Mont Blanc, 1917
During the First World War, two ships collided in the Canadian port of Halifax. The French "Mont Blanc" was carrying explosives for its army, the Norwegian ship "Imo" - humanitarian aid for the war-torn Belgium. As a result of the collision, the "Frenchman" ran aground, and a fire started on the ship. What is fire on a ship loaded with tons of explosives? The catastrophe was inevitable, but nobody could foresee its scale.
The force of the explosion was subsequently rated as the most powerful in the pre-nuclear era. The horror was that the ship was located a few meters from the pier, where onlookers crowded. More than 2000 people died, the number of wounded was about 9000 people, another 400 lost their sight. The explosion completely destroyed the port and residential areas adjacent to it. According to various estimates, at least 10,000 residents of the city have lost their roof over their heads.
The largest in terms of the number of victims - "Doña Paz", 1987
This Philippine ferry ship was later named the "Titanic of Asia". The most common means of transportation in the Philippine Islands was, as usual, overcrowded. For a long time, no one cared about the excess capacity or the professionalism of the team. Almost the same can be said about the tanker that the ferry collided with in the Tablas Strait. Moreover, this "Vector" generally transported oil illegally.
There was only one person on the captain's bridge of the ferry at night, the rest were sipping beer in the cockpit. Negligence is evident. And the consequences are fatal. The collision provoked not only a fire, but also an oil leak from the tanker. There was no communication on the Donja Paz, life jackets were locked in one of the rooms, and the team panicked.
The passengers did not have a single chance of escape. Night, burning ships, burning water around them, and general panic. A terrible tragedy claimed the lives of more than 4,000 people.
Most Inhuman - "Junye Maru", 1944
This Japanese steel prison was called the "ship of hell". Deservedly so, even if there is only a grain of truth in the stories of the survivors. For the next Japanese "construction of the century" the ship was carrying more than 2,000 prisoners of war, mainly Dutch, British and Americans. And also laborers from Indonesia, practically taken into slavery. They were transported in the hold, in conditions of terrible overcrowding, without food or drinking water. There was no talk at all about the means of salvation for the prisoners.
Like all floating Japanese prisons, the ship had no markings on board. Therefore, the British submarine took the ship for a merchant and fired torpedoes at it. The hold immediately turned into a trap, although someone managed to get out of it.
The Japanese guards had lowered their boats, and they were all wearing life jackets. The next boat quickly picked up its own. Only the next day did he return for the prisoners. But there was almost no one to save. The death toll of prisoners of war exceeded 5600 people.
The worst - "Indianapolis", 1945
The ship delivered a secret cargo to the American airbase - "stuffing" for the first atomic bombs. And went on the way back. Perhaps the law of karma worked ahead of the curve here, because bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki a few days later. Either way, the ship was torpedoed by Japanese mini-submarines guided by suicide bombers.
The radio transmitter of the American vessel was out of order, the Indianapolis sank in 12 minutes without sending a distress signal. About 300 sailors did not manage to get out. The rest embarked on life rafts. Summer-like warm Pacific water, life jackets - the Americans had every chance of a successful outcome.
However, help came only 5 days later. Having received no SOS signal, the American command did not worry about the fate of the ship. Meanwhile, a real drama was playing out in the ocean. Sharks surrounded the rafts. They attacked the sailors, literally tearing them to pieces. And the blood of the unfortunate attracted more and more sharks.
Killed 900 crew members, and five died already on board the rescue ship. There were only a few days left until the end of the war.
The most secret - "Hsuan Huai", 1948
During the Chinese Civil War, the nationalists tried to rescue the remaining army units on this freighter. In addition to the soldiers, the remaining ammunition and gasoline were taken out. It was because of the latter that the explosion occurred. Until the end, the original cause of the fire is still unknown. The sailors and the military were unable to cope with the resulting fire. The ship sank.
The Chinese authorities would prefer to completely classify this fact, but a video remains. Now only the death toll is under the sign of secrecy. Officially - about 2,000 people, according to other sources - 6,000 dead.
The most dishonest - "Arctic", 1854
When they say that in the last century the attitude towards the fair sex was more gentlemanly, remember the wreck of the British paddle steamer "Arctic". On the way to New York, in the September fog, he collided with a French steamer.
Onboard there were 400 passengers and crew members. However, the number of Arktika lifeboats was designed for only 180 passengers. And this is not negligence. At that time, such a ratio was considered normal - so as not to create overload, and not to clutter up the deck.
After the collision, the steamer sank to the bottom for 4 hours. That is, there was a real opportunity to organize the rescue of people. In addition, sailors have always had an unwritten rule about the salvation of women and children, first of all. Contrary to him, and even to the captain's order, the crew members and male passengers rushed into the boats.
Among the survivors - not a single child, and not a single woman. Despite subsequent media condemnation, none of the survivors was brought to justice.
