The sinking of the Titanic after a collision with an iceberg in 1912 became a symbol of all major events for decades to come. maritime disasters that took place in Peaceful time. By the end of the 20th century, people again began to have the illusion that tragedies of this kind had gone down in history. The retribution for such delusions always turns out to be cruel.
On August 31, 1986, a catastrophe occurred in the Tsemess Bay near Novorossiysk, which later became known as the "Soviet Titanic". But, unlike the history of 1912, in this case there was no iceberg - the crash was exclusively the work of human hands.
Trophy "Berlin"
The Soviet cruise ship "Admiral Nakhimov" was launched in March 1925 in Lobbendorf, Germany, and received the name "Berlin". In the early years of its existence, Berlin operated flights from Germany to New York. By the end of the 1930s, transatlantic voyages became unprofitable, and the ship was transferred to Mediterranean cruises.
With the outbreak of World War II, the Berlin was converted into a hospital ship and was used as such until 1945. In January 1945, she hit a mine near the port of Swinemünde and sank at a shallow depth. In 1947, the ship was raised by Soviet divers and sent for partial repairs to the docks of the Kronstadt port. The ship that became a trophy received a new name - "Admiral Nakhimov", after which he went to his homeland, to Germany. In the GDR, the steamer hung up overhaul and in 1957 became part of the Black Sea Shipping Company."Berlin", 1920s. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
Prestigious holidays and special operations
"Admiral Nakhimov" became in the USSR a symbol of a prestigious cruise vacation, hitherto unfamiliar to Soviet citizens. However, sometimes it was used for other purposes. Yes, during Caribbean Crisis Soviet military personnel were transferred to Cuba on board, and in 1979 - Cuban military personnel to carry out secret mission in Africa.
In the history of "Admiral Nakhimov" there were flights with pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, and swimming with the participants of the World Festival of Youth and Students. The ship had an exceptional reputation - for almost three decades of its operation in the USSR, not a single serious incident was recorded with its participation.Time, however, made itself felt - in the 1980s, the Admiral Nakhimov changed long-distance flights to cruises on the Black Sea. These cruises were wildly successful among the unspoiled inhabitants of the USSR.
The promenade deck of the Admiral Nakhimov in 1957. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
Flight Odessa - Batumi - Odessa
August 29, 1986 "Admiral Nakhimov" went on a regular flight on the route Odessa - Batumi - Odessa with calls to Yalta, Novorossiysk and Sochi. The cruise was supposed to end on September 5th. After leaving Odessa, the ship safely reached Yalta, and then at 14:00 on August 31 arrived in Novorossiysk. At 22:00, the liner was to leave the port and head for Sochi. There were 1243 people on board: 346 crew members and 897 passengers.
Since 1984, he has been the captain of the Admiral Nakhimov Vadim Markov, an experienced sailor who had a job on the lines of foreign navigation. Captain Markov knew his ship perfectly, and the exit from the port did not promise any dangers.
According to the message of the vessel traffic control post (PRDS), at that moment the only ship approached the port of Novorossiysk - the dry cargo ship "Pyotr Vasev", carrying Canadian barley. Captain commanded the cargo ship Viktor Tkachenko, who said that he would miss the steamer leaving the bay."Pyotr Vasyov" goes towards
With a delay of 10 minutes from the schedule, "Admiral Nakhimov" unmoored and rushed to the exit from the port. The steamer passed the gates of the port, entered the course 154.2 and began to follow the direction of the buoys of the Penai banks, which were located at the exit from the bay.
Peace reigned on board. Some of the passengers went to sleep, some were going to a movie show, the youth were at a disco in the music room, some people were in bars.
At this time, Captain Tkachenko once again confirmed that Pyotr Vasyov would let the Admiral Nakhimov through. Tkachenko transmitted the same information via radio communication to the second assistant to the captain of the Admiral Nakhimov. Alexander Chudnovsky, who at 23:00 took over the watch from Captain Markov. Tkachenko and Chudnovsky agreed that the ships would part on their starboard sides. Captain Tkachenko was guided by the indications of ARPA - an automated radar plotting system. The data of this device indicated that the ships would safely disperse.
But Chudnovsky, who was on the Admiral Nakhimov, who was observing the situation visually, already at about 23:05 discovered that the ships were heading for a dangerous approach. The officer on duty contacted Tkachenko again, specifying: “Pyotr Vasyov” definitely misses the steamer? Captain Tkachenko confirmed: yes, everything is in order.
"Pyotr Vasyov". Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
"Work back immediately!"
In the meantime, there were those on the Pyotr Vasyov who saw that the situation was developing in a dangerous direction. Mate Zubuk drew Tkachenko's attention to the fact that the bearing on the "Admiral Nakhimov" practically does not change, which indicates the threat of a collision. At the same time, Zubuk pointed to the lights of the ship, which indicated that the ships were approaching a collision.
Captain Tkachenko looked only at the device with inexplicable obstinacy for several more minutes. And only then, finally looking where Zubyuk was pointing, he realized with horror - "Pyotr Vasyov" on high speed flies straight at the Admiral Nakhimov.Captain Tkachenko began to give commands to the engine room - "medium forward", "small forward". These half-measures no longer helped, and Tkachenko's last command was: "Stop, full back!" However, a heavy cargo ship cannot change direction instantly. "Pyotr Vasev" continued to go to the "Admiral Nakhimov". On the ship, the officer on duty to the captain Alexander Chudnovsky radioed to the dry cargo ship: “Work back immediately!”. The helmsman of the "Admiral Nakhimov" was given the command: "Left aboard!".
"Nakhimov" went to the bottom in 8 minutes
This did not help - at 23:12 there was a collision. "Pyotr Vasev" at a speed of 5 knots entered at an angle of 110 ° in the middle of the starboard side of the ship. In the underwater part, the bulk carrier entered with its protruding part, the bulb, into the hull of the Admiral Nakhimov for several meters in the bulkhead area between the engine and boiler rooms. "Admiral Nakhimov" continued to move forward by inertia, turning the cargo ship and thereby increasing the size of the hole in the starboard side, which eventually amounted to about 80 square meters.
A huge hole led to the rapid flooding of the ship. In just 30 seconds, the engine room was filled with water. The ship began to roll to starboard. Emergency lighting, which switched on instead of the main one, worked for only two minutes. Many people were locked in cabins inside the sinking ship. All that the team members managed to do was launch inflatable rafts. 8 minutes after the collision, at 23:20, "Admiral Nakhimov" went under water, leaving hundreds of people fighting for their lives on the surface. Among them was not the assistant captain Alexander Chudnovsky. The sailor, realizing that the ship was dying, pronounced a death sentence on himself - having gone down to his cabin, he locked himself in it and, together with the Admiral Nakhimov, went to the bottom.
More than 60 ships rescued dying people
The first to approach the crash site was a small pilot boat LK-90, heading for the "Peter Vasyov" to escort it to the pier. "Admiral Nakhimov" sank in front of the crew members of the boat.
At 23:35 LK-90 proceeded to rescue people. 118 people were lifted on board a small boat, which is much more than the allowable load. Then the rescued began to be transferred to other approaching ships. At this time, the captain of the port of Novorossiysk Popov ordered all watercraft to go to the disaster area to save people. Tugs, small and raid boats, boats of border troops, "comets" on hydrofoils - a total of 64 vessels took part in the rescue operation.
Had to work in difficult conditions strong wind, waves up to two meters. But the sailors did everything possible and impossible. Cadets of the Novorossiysk Higher naval engineering school, raised in alarm, went out to sea on skiffs, themselves risking death.
The crew of the dry-cargo ship Pyotr Vasyov also took part in the rescue operation, raising 36 people on board. Of the 1243 people on board, 423 were killed: 359 passengers and 64 crew members. Among the dead were 23 children.
Who is guilty?
A large government commission arrived from Moscow, headed by the First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Heydar Aliyev, and with it a large investigation team.
As a result, both captains went to court - Viktor Tkachenko and Vadim Markov received 15 years in prison. Markov, who miraculously survived the crash, was blamed for his absence from the bridge. At the time of the disaster, the captain was in the cabin of the head of the KGB department for the Odessa region, Major General Krikunova where he was invited to dinner. Unlike Markov, General Krikunov died with his family.
For thirty years in the crash of "Admiral Nakhimov" whoever and what they were accused of - and anomalous zone, and the Soviet system, and the dilapidation of the ship, and saboteurs ... The story about the usual "human factor" cut many ears. "Admiral Nakhimov" took two more human lives already after the crash - two divers died, raising the bodies of the victims to the surface. After that, work on the ship was stopped, and the bodies of 64 people remained inside the Admiral Nakhimov hull.
The captain of the "Peter Vasyov" went to Israel and died in a shipwreck.In 1992, after the collapse of the USSR, the presidents of Russia and Ukraine pardoned the convicted captains.
Vadim Markov, after his release, returned to Odessa, worked in the Black Sea Shipping Company as a captain-mentor. Due to persecution by the relatives of the deceased, his family had to change their place of residence several times. In 2007, the captain of the Admiral Nakhimov died of cancer.
The captain of the "Peter Vasyov" Viktor Tkachenko, taking his wife's surname - Tallor, moved to permanent residence in Israel, hoping that there the story of the death of the "Admiral Nakhimov" would cease to interfere with his life. In 2003, the yacht, driven by Victor Tallor, was wrecked off the coast of Newfoundland. The wreckage of the yacht and the remains of people found on the coast of Canada.
The area of the Tsemess Bay, where the Admiral Nakhimov lies at a depth of 47 meters, is officially the burial place of the victims of the disaster. Anchoring, dives of divers and underwater vehicles, as well as any actions that disturb the peace of the burial place, are prohibited in the specified area.
Like a fire, water ingress, deterioration in visibility or the situation in general. Well-coordinated crews, guided by experienced captains, deal with problems quickly. Otherwise, sea disasters occur, which take human lives with them and leave their black mark on history.
There are many such disasters and tragedies. However, some of them deserve special attention.
Torpedoing of the mysterious ship "Armenia"
Most major disasters marine happened precisely in the 20th century, mainly during the war years. The most massive tragedy of all is the loss of the ship "Armenia". The ship was used to transport the wounded from the Crimea during the offensive German soldiers. After thousands of wounded in Sevastopol were loaded on board the ship, the ship arrived in Yalta. It was believed that this city was doomed, so the NKVD officers placed several heavy boxes on the ship. There were rumors that they contained gold. This attracted many adventurers afterwards.
On November 7, 1941, the Heinkel He-111 torpedo bomber attacked the ship, after which the ship quickly sank. It is still unknown how many people it carried. Only a rough estimate of the number of victims is given (7-10 thousand people).
It should also be noted that the ship has not yet been found. Since it sailed off the coast of Yalta at the moment when the Germans had already entered the city, the captain of the ship did not inform anyone about his further route. Therefore, it is not known exactly which way "Armenia" moved.
Tragedy on the Baltic Sea
In the Baltic Sea, wrecks are often encountered by scuba divers and divers. But the wreck of the Cap Arkona liner and the cargo ship Tilbek is a tragedy that claimed almost 8,000 lives. It is considered one of the largest maritime disasters.
Both ships were attacked. They were transporting prisoners from concentration camps. Also on board were SS soldiers and a German crew. The last one managed to escape. Everyone else, mostly those who were wearing striped overalls, were shot by German ships.
So British aviation allowed large-scale catastrophe, which did not bring decisively any benefit in the war. In their defense, the British Air Force said that the bombing had happened by accident, by mistake.
The legendary Titanic
Everyone who studies the sunken ships or heard something about them will invariably connect the story with the Titanic. However, there is nothing mysterious or unique about it. The captain of the ship was informed of the threat of icebergs, but chose to ignore the information. Soon he received a message that there was a huge block of ice ahead. There was no time to change course. Therefore, the captain decided to put his right side under attack.
The ship was nicknamed "unsinkable" while still in port. Needless to say, he matched it a bit. Despite the heavy damage received, the ship remained afloat for a long time. During this period, the nearest ship "Carpathia" managed to come to the rescue. That is why more than 700 passengers were saved. There were about 1000 dead.
Thus, if we consider the most "promoted" maritime disasters of the 20th century, then the death of the Titanic will be in the first place. This is due not at all to the number of human casualties and touching stories about salvation, but by the fact that the nobility traveled on the ship.
Liner "Lusitania"
In 1915, maritime disasters added to their list with the crash of a British passenger liner. On May 7, the Lusitania was attacked by a German submarine. The torpedo hit the starboard side, causing a series of explosions. As a result, the ship sank in a matter of moments.
The accident occurred near Kinsale (Ireland), 13 kilometers away. Probably, such proximity to the mainland allowed a sufficient number of people to escape.
The total crash of the liner occurred in 18 minutes. There were about 2,000 people on board, more than 700 of whom managed to escape. 1198 passengers and crew members went down with the wreckage of the former large liner.
By the way, it is with this tragedy that the Anglo-German confrontation begins in the water. Both countries try to cause damage, sometimes even "accidentally", to each other regarding the navy.
Nuclear-powered ship "Kursk"
The most recent catastrophe in Russian memories is the sinking of the Kursk. This tragedy brought misfortune and grief to many families who did not expect to part with their loved ones forever. After all, the nuclear-powered ship did just a training swim.
Sunken submarines have always aroused interest. On August 12, 2000, the Kursk was added to their list. On the this moment There are 2 reasons why this happened. In the first case, it is believed that a projectile exploded in the torpedo room. However, no one can say why this happened. In the second case - an attack from the side, more specifically, by the Memphis submarine. As for hiding real reason the death of the Kursk, the government decided to avoid international conflict. One way or another, at the moment there is no exact information as to why the nuclear-powered ship sank.
The victims of the tragedy were 118 people. Help the dying people at the bottom Barents Sea turned out to be impossible. Therefore, no one managed to survive.
The most paradoxical death
The largest maritime disasters are distinguished not only by large-scale human casualties, but also by their uniqueness. Many of them occur under conditions that at first glance seem quite impossible. A paradoxical catastrophe is the death of the Dona Paz ferry and oil tanker, which occurred at the end of 1987.
The fact is that the captain of the ferry was sitting in his cabin and watching TV, while the ship was controlled by an inexperienced sailor. An oil tanker was sailing towards him, with which a collision occurred a few minutes later. As a result, almost all passengers were burned alive, as a global fire began. It was impossible to get out of the resulting fiery trap. More than 80 tons of oil spilled into the sea, after which it immediately ignited. Who would have thought that on the water you can die from fire?
Both ships went completely underwater in less than half an hour. There were no survivors, the element took 4375 people.
Conclusion
All maritime disasters are tragedies that plunge people into grief and cut off the fate of people. Physical damage to the fleet is inflicted, especially if a warship is lost. But moral damage is also observed, because no one wants to lose colleagues and brothers in their specialty.
But any is also a kind of experiment, only unplanned. After the incident, the fleet needs to analyze the situation from all sides, identify the circumstances and causes. Next, measures should be developed to help eliminate the possibility of a recurrence of a particular catastrophe.
It was the first in the history of our country radiation accident. The tragedy is better known as the "Kyshtym accident", since the chemical plant was located in closed city Chelyabinsk-40 (now Ozersk), and Kyshtym was the nearest city to it, indicated on the maps.
An explosion, estimated at tens of tons of TNT, occurred in a container for radioactive waste: The cooling system has failed. The tank was destroyed, a concrete floor 1 meter thick and weighing 160 tons was thrown aside, about 20 million curies were released into the atmosphere radioactive substances. In the zone radiation pollution turned out huge territory with a population of 270 thousand people, which included three regions: Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk and Tyumen.
No one died directly from the explosion. On the first day after the explosion, servicemen from the nearest unit and prisoners from the colony, which was also nearby, were withdrawn from the affected area. And only a week or two after the accident, the evacuation began local population, and even then only from the most affected settlements.
Losses came later - among the hundreds of thousands of military personnel and civilian workers involved in the elimination of the consequences of the accident. All of them received significant doses of radiation. Now the nuclear reserve "East Ural radioactive trace" is located at the site of the accident. You cannot visit it: the level of radioactivity in it is still very high.
The authorities hid information about the disaster both from the population of the country and from the inhabitants of the Urals, who found themselves in the zone of radioactive contamination. A column of smoke and dust up to a kilometer high, flickering with an orange-red light, was called in the newspapers " polar lights". But the fact of the accident in the Urals soon became known abroad. The Danish press was the first to report on this. True, the message was not entirely accurate: it claimed that some kind of accident had occurred during Soviet nuclear tests.
Explosion of a ballistic missile at Baikonur (1960)
This was not the only catastrophe at Baikonur, but one of the largest that occurred at the cosmodrome in Soviet period. A fundamentally new Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile R-16 was being prepared for launch.
Chairman State Commission according to the tests of the R-16, the commander-in-chief himself was Rocket troops strategic purpose(RVSN) - Marshal of Artillery M. I. Nedelin. As often happened in Soviet history, wanted to give a gift for the 43rd anniversary October revolution, carry out the first launch before November 7.
In a hurry, all conceivable and unimaginable violations of safety regulations were committed. As a result, during the tests, the engine started prematurely and exploded. rocket fuel. Burned and later died from burns and wounds, according to various sources, from 92 to 126 people. Among the dead was Marshal Nedelin.
Information about the tragedy was classified, there were no official reports of the disaster. Relatives and friends of the victims were advised to talk about the accident. Even Marshal Nedelin, according to an official statement, "died tragically in a plane crash."
Collision of airliners over Dneprodzerzhinsk (1979)
This plane crash is one of the largest in aviation history. In terms of the number of victims in the history of the USSR, it ranks second, and among aircraft collisions in general, it ranks third.
In the sky over Dneprodzerzhinsk ( Ukrainian SSR) two Aeroflot Tu-134 planes collided (Chelyabinsk - Chisinau and Tashkent - Minsk flights), as a result of which all 178 people on them were killed. Among the dead were 17 players of the Uzbek football club Pakhtakor. On that day, in the Kharkiv control center, in violation of the instructions, an inexperienced dispatcher was in the most stressed sector. The situation was further complicated by the fact that one of the three air corridors was "booked" for the top party nomenklatura member Chernenko, who was supposed to fly that day to Brezhnev, who was vacationing in the Crimea.
When the controllers saw that the planes were going across each other, they gave the command to one of the sides to gain altitude. The answer was: “Understood.” The controllers calmed down, deciding that the command was being carried out by the right aircraft. In fact, the crew of the third aircraft in general answered - Il-62, flying to Tashkent. A minute later, two Tu-134s collided in the air ...
This catastrophe would have been hushed up, like the others, if not for the death of the whole football team, and from the major leagues. As a result, although this plane crash did not receive wide publicity in the USSR (only in the newspaper "Soviet Sport" a tiny note was placed about the death of "Pakhtakor"), but on international level she did not hesitate.
The death of an aircraft with the command staff of the Pacific Fleet near Leningrad (1981)
During takeoff from a military airfield in the city of Pushkin (near Leningrad), a Tu-104 transport aircraft crashed, in which were the commander of the Pacific Fleet, almost all of his deputies, half personnel headquarters, command of naval aviation, flotillas, brigades and squadrons. At the same time Pacific Fleet lost command. A total of 52 people died, among them 16 admirals. For comparison: for the entire Great Patriotic War the Soviet fleet lost only four admirals.
The cause of the tragedy was the overload of the aircraft. In addition to heavy safes with maps and documents, they carried a lot of scarce goods that the authorities were able to get in Leningrad: household appliances, furniture, even fruit. The crew understood that the plane was overloaded, and informed the dispatcher about this, but he did not dare to object to the high authorities.
The overload of the tail section, the sudden increase in wind, the incorrect centering of the aircraft and, probably, the cargo that had shifted after takeoff - all this led to a disaster. The plane, after taking off at 50 meters, fell on the tail and starboard side and fell. Upon impact, the fuel caught fire - no one managed to survive. Eyewitnesses recalled that after the crash, the entire strip was covered with scarce oranges. After the disaster, all Tu-104s were decommissioned by the Air Force.
The death of the ship "Alexander Suvorov" (1983)
Cruise ship on the route Rostov-on-Don - Moscow, on top speed(25 km / h) entered the non-navigable span of the Ulyanovsk bridge across the Volga and, by inertia, passed under the bridge for another 300 meters. As a result, the ship was literally cut off the entire top part: cabin, cinema hall, chimneys. The situation was aggravated by the fact that at that time there was a freight train. Due to the collision of the ship with the bridge, the train was displaced by 40 centimeters. As a result, part of the wagons overturned, and their cargo (coal, grain, logs) spilled onto the ship, increasing the number of victims.
The death toll, according to various sources, ranged from 176 to 600 people. Difficulties with counting are due to the fact that the ship was overloaded. In addition to 330 passengers, 50 crew members and 35 service personnel, acquaintances and relatives of the crew members were not quite officially on board. To my misfortune most of passengers was on the upper deck (in the cinema hall and on the dance floor), completely destroyed during the collision with the bridge - hence big number victims.
One of the main reasons for the tragedy that occurred late in the evening was the lack of signal lights on the bridge. In addition, on the ill-fated non-navigable span, there was a lineman's booth, which in the dark looked like a signal board marking the ship's span.
The death of two trains near Ufa (1989)
This catastrophe is the largest in the history of the national railway transport. At the time of the oncoming passage of two passenger trains - "Novosibirsk - Adler" and "Adler - Novosibirsk" - there was a powerful explosion. Of the 1370 passengers (among them 383 children), 575 people died (according to other sources - 645), of which 181 were children; 623 people were injured.
The explosion was so strong that shock wave windows were shattered in a neighboring town, located more than 10 kilometers from the scene, and the fire pillar was visible even for 100 kilometers. What's next town! The explosion triggered the North American system alarm air defense(NORAD)! The Americans decided that the "Soviets" experienced another atomic bomb. According to experts, the power of the explosion was almost equal to the power of the nuclear explosion in Hiroshima.
What caused so destructive explosion? On a nearby pipeline Western Siberia- Ural - the Volga region, along which a liquefied gas-gasoline mixture was transported, a hole of one and a half meters was formed. The gas released through the hole accumulated in a lowland, not far from the railway track.
A few hours before the disaster, the instruments showed a drop in pressure in the pipeline. However, instead of looking for a leak, the personnel on duty only increased the gas supply to restore pressure. As a result, even more gas leaked out under increased pressure. The drivers of the passing trains warned the section dispatcher that there was a strong gas contamination on the stretch, but they did not attach any importance to this.
The ignition of the "gas lake" was a matter of time. What led to the explosion - a cigarette thrown out of the train window, a spark from under the wheels during braking - can no longer be established. As well as the reason for the appearance of a hole in the pipeline - due to corrosion or from the excavator bucket.
P.S. As you must have noticed, the list does not include an accident on Chernobyl nuclear power plant. You can read about it separately - and more.
Hello! Vladimir Raichev is in touch, as you can hear me, reception-reception. I'm in a great mood, I'm on vacation, I devote my free time to the blog. Today I have prepared another top catastrophe for you. Maritime disasters happen at least as often as air crashes, so our meeting today will be dedicated to them.
But first, imagine what a person who goes on a cruise experiences? Sea, sun, expensive liner. Have you already felt it for yourself? Agree that this is a real idyll.
All the disasters that are told about have turned cruises from a fantastic idyll into a real nightmare. Over the past 100 years, the world has become aware of many tragedies on the water, which will haunt the memory and consciousness of people for a long time to come. Like, for example, the crash of the Swedish warship Vasa.
The story of the Titanic is probably known to everyone. It was a luxury liner. It sank on its maiden voyage off the coast Nova Scotia. Then, as a result of a collision with an iceberg, more than 1,500 people died.
One of the most majestic ships never made it to its destination. Long time it was believed that the cause of the death of the liner lies in the negligence of the crew and the captain, and even tighter in their pride. Today the situation has changed a little.
New research is being done. According to one of them, the cause of the crash was the strengthening of the current, which brought huge icebergs. According to scientists, at that time the Moon approached the Earth as close as possible in 1000 years, which contributed to a change in the course.
In general, I already wrote about the many reasons for the sinking of the Titanic in my article.
Disaster of the Empress of Ireland
This happened in 1914. In Canadian history terrible tragedy at sea was the wreck of the Empress of Ireland. This liner sank as a result of a collision with a coal carrier. There was a collision on the St. Lawrence River. The crash happened in 14 minutes.
As a result of this disaster, the Empress sank to a depth of more than 40 meters. More than 1000 people died. Despite the number of victims, this story is unknown to most people. Everything happened so fast that most of the passengers did not even realize what had happened.
The story of the sinking of the Lusitania
During World War I, the tragedy of the Lusitania occurred in 1915. The sinking of the Lusitania is considered one of the most mysterious events associated with the history of the First World War.
The reason was the torpedoing by a German submarine. That was the first official version, which had many omissions and obvious inaccuracies. Many of the researchers this issue they say that ammunition was placed on board.
This is also confirmed by one of the passengers, a Canadian professor who was on board. After the torpedo was blown up, a second explosion was heard. It was explosive ammunition. For many, everything about the Lusitania has become a dirty story.
Tragedy of Laconia
The Laconia liner went on an 11-day Christmas cruise in December 1963. There were over 1,000 people on board. On December 22, a fire broke out on the ship. It started in the booth of a hairdressing salon.
Stuart, who noticed the smoke, was trying to put out the fire, which was spreading rapidly and dynamically. From the corridor, the fire spread to the common cabins. More than 120 people died because of this incident.
Disasters with ships and liners that happen in recent times, are less significant in terms of the number of victims. However, they also deserve our attention. Thanks to modern technical development, it is possible to avoid casualties and adverse consequences as much as possible.
For example, we can take the ship "Norwegian Dream", which collided with a cargo ship. It happened in 1999. The number of passengers who were on board reached 2400 thousand.
Only 3 people received minor injuries. Passengers were evacuated as soon as possible, which avoided the appearance of casualties.
One of recent tragedies, known throughout the world, was the story of the liner "Costa Concordia". There were approximately 4,200 people on board. Due to disorganization, as well as insufficient training of the ship's crew, 17 people died. 15 people were never found. More than 80 people were injured.
But despite the fact that human sacrifice in case of disasters on the water have recently become minimal, the costs from them do not become less. Why are there costs, this is all a matter of gain, imagine what kind of stress a person receives during a crash.
In my understanding, the expectation of imminent death is huge blow on the human psyche, which can hardly be compared with anything.
That's all for today, subscribe to blog updates, I have something to tell you about. Share the article with your friends social networks, I am sure that they will also be interested in reading about disasters on the water. Take care of yourself, until we meet again, bye-bye.
As a result of industrialization and development of industry at the beginning of the 20th century, large-scale construction of ships with large displacement on steam engines. Huge passenger ships were launched into the water, the capacity of which was measured in thousands of seats.
Steam engines allowed long-distance travel around the world. Replacing a wooden hull with a steel one made materials cheaper and stronger, thereby providing shipbuilding with all necessary resources. But despite the improvement in the quality of shipbuilding, ships sank no less than in the 18th or 19th century, only the scale of shipwrecks was more global due to the number of victims. This article will tell you about the biggest maritime disasters in history.
In 10th place in terms of the number of victims is the Kursk submarine, which sank in the Barents Sea on August 12, 2000. The reason is the explosion of a torpedo in the torpedo room, however, according to unofficial version"Kursk" was attacked by the US Navy - the submarine "Memphis". There is an opinion that Russian government deliberately covered up the American attack in order to avoid international conflict. 118 people became victims. Nobody survived. 
The collision of the liner "Admiral Nakhimov"
9th place. Collision of the Soviet liner "Admiral Nakhimov" with the cargo ship "Pyotr Vasev" on August 31, 1986 in the Black Sea. Both captains were convicted. The captain of the ship "Pyotr Vasev", trusting in the system of automated radar plotting the course (CAD), did not change direction and speed until the critical distance from the "Admiral Nakhimov" was found. Another important factor is that the captains of the ships could not establish contact with each other before agreeing who should yield to whom. The cargo ship rammed a passenger steamer at an angle of 110 degrees. For 8 minutes, "Admiral Nakhimov" plunged under water. 423 crew members were killed. 
8th place is occupied by Novorossiysk - soviet battleship, received by the USSR due to reparations from the Italian navy. On October 29, 1955, the Novorossiysk ship was sunk by a mine in the Black Sea, however, there is a version that is classified Soviet Union, on which the battleship exploded as a result of the actions of Italian sabotage groups. Italian government did not want to leave the pride of the national fleet in the hands of the enemy, so they set up a diversion on the Novorossiysk. As a result of the disaster, 604 crew members died. 
On the 7th place is american ship The Eastland sank on July 24, 1915 on Lake Michigan. The tourist ship was designed for 1,000 passengers, however, 2,500 tickets were sold on board. After the captain ordered to give up the mooring line, the ship slowly fell to starboard, the passengers began to panic. An overcrowded passenger ship fell to the port side, from an overflowing cargo in the form of an extra fifteen hundred passengers. 845 people died. According to a court decision, the mechanic was guilty, who unevenly filled the ballasts. 
6th place is occupied by the ferry "Estonia", which sank on September 28, 1994 in Gulf of Finland. At 1:15 a.m., the ferry's bow visor came off, causing water to enter the cargo hold. In 35 minutes, "Estonia" completely sank. The victims of the tragedy were 852 people. 
Shipwreck of the steamer "Empress of Ireland"
At the 5th place, the shipwreck of the giant luxury steamer of the Express of Ireland class, which collided with cargo ship filled with coal, May 29, 1914. The ship "Storstad" rammed a passenger liner to the starboard side at an angle of 35 degrees. The hole was five meters deep "Empress of Ireland". After the collision, the captain of the passenger ship shouted into the mouthpiece of the commander of the cargo ship: “Get full speed ahead”, but the captain of the Storstad said: “The engines on full power work backwards, I can't do anything." A few minutes later, the cargo ship moved back, removing the bow from the side of the Express of Island, and water gushed through a hole with an area of 30 square meters. m. The ship sank. 1012 passengers died.
4th place is occupied by the disaster that occurred during the collision of the Titanic passenger liner with a huge ice block on April 14, 1912. The cause of the shipwreck is the lack of visibility and indiscretion of the captain, who ignored 7 ice warnings and ordered the ship to be launched. full swing. 23:39 The watcher reported from the tower about the discovery of an iceberg right on the course. The captain ordered to deviate to the port side, thereby putting the starboard under attack. Through the hole, water began to flow into the compartments of the ship. Panic broke out on the ship, third-class passengers, who were in the lower compartments, could not find a way out of the narrow corridors. As a result of the crash, 1496 people died, 712 survivors were picked up by the steamer Carpathia passing by. 
On the 3rd place is the Yoola ferry, which sank off the coast of the Gambia on September 26, 2002. The cause of the crash is the overload of the vessel. The ship, designed for 580 passengers, accommodated more than 2,000 people. A strong gust of wind overturned the overloaded ferry. "Yoola" took 1863 people with her to the bottom. 
In 2nd place is the French warship Mont Blanc, which collided with the Norwegian ship Imo on December 6, 1917 in the port of Halifax. On board the Mont Blanc were 2,300 tons of the most powerful chemical explosives. The Norwegian ship rammed into the starboard side of the Frenchman as a result of powerful explosion before the nuclear age. The port was completely destroyed by the explosion. 1963 people died, 2000 people went missing. 
The first place in the ranking of the most global maritime disasters is occupied by the Dona Paz ferry, which collided with an oil tanker on December 20, 1987. A major fire starts, most of the passengers, trapped in a fire trap, burned alive on the lower decks of the ship. Eighty tons of oil spilled into the sea and ignited. Both ships sank in 20 minutes. The reason is the inexperience of the sailor who operated the Dona Paz ferry, whose captain was watching TV in his cabin during a collision with an oil carrier. 4375 people died. 
