What made Titanic sink?
by Nakul Chakoo and Pankaj Tandon The public has always been fascinated with the story of the oceanliner “Titanic” ever since she struck on iceberg during her maiden voyage on April 12, 1912, and sank with the resultant loss of more than 1,500 lives. A surviving first class passenger of the ill-fated liner, Pierre Marechal, recalled: “When our boat had rowed about half a mile from the vessel, the Titanic which was illuminated from stem to stern was perfectly stationary, like some fantastic piece of stage scenery. Presently, the gigantic ship began to sink by the bows…. suddenly the lights went out, and an immense clamour filled the air. Little by little, the Titanic settled down and sank without noise. In the final spasm the stern of the leviathan stood in the air and then the vessel finally disappeared”. For more than 85 years, the tragedy has been the subject off books, films and speculation as to why it took less than three hours for the ship to sink. Interest was renewed after Ro
