The RMS Titanic.
The unsinkable luxury ocean liner that tragically sank over 100 years ago after striking an
iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean.
1,503 people lost their lives that night, but what happened to their bodies?
Hello and welcome back to Life’s Biggest Questions – the channel that loves to answer
anything and everything – from big questions, like our channel name suggests, to small questions…
because you never know what will trigger a big answer.
I am your host Rebecca Felgate and today I am asking where did all the bodies from the
Titanic go.
A morbid question, yes, but tragic events leave tragic aftermaths and beyond that, the
whole event was much wider than a boat in the ocean.
Before we get into this video, why don’t you let me know if you have seen the movie
Titanic?
Do you think it needs a remake, or perhaps we could have a television series, like Downton
Abbey… but on the Titanic!
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section down below.
Also do leave a thumbs up on this video and share it with a friend.
So the RMS Titanic set sail on her maiden voyage from Southampton in the UK on April
10th 1912, aiming to reach New York a week later.
In the ship’s need for speed and headlines, it struck an iceberg and the damage was irreparable.
As the ship sank, the 2,224 passengers on board realised there were not enough lifeboats
for everyone to escape.
In fact, there was only capacity for 1,178 people, although even then their full capacities
were not used.
1,503 people lost their lives and just 706 people lived.
So, where did the bodies go?
Well, let’s start with this.
1,160 bodies remain lost.
Let’s start with the ones that weren’t, though.
A lot of people were wearing life jackets, and those that were far away enough from the
drag of the ship when it went under froze to death and were found bobbing on the surface
of the ocean by rescue teams.
Four ships were chartered in the rescue effort to retrieve the bodies – Canadian Vessels
Mackay Bennett, CS Minia, CGS Montmagny, and SS Algerine.
Those on the rescue missions describe seeing hundreds of dead – fields of dead.
Although that was just a proportion of the dead; it seems that after the sinking a storm
blew that scattered hundreds of bodies far and wide across the ocean.
Just 340 bodies were rescued from the water.
These bodies were transported to the nearest port and city that could receive them, and
that was Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Bodies were taken to local Halifax buildings that served as makeshift morgues, including
what is now The Fiver Fisherman restaurant – a building claimed by some to still be
haunted by the spirits of the dead.
I have actually eaten there, although I had no idea of its history at the time, which
is in some ways a shame because I love history, especially the history of the Titanic.
Others were held at the Mayflower Curling Rink – which…
well…it was already icy.
209 of the bodies were transported to Halifax, who couldn’t house all the remains as the
city was running low on embalming fluid.
The more badly damaged bodies were buried at sea.
150 identified bodies were buried across three different sites in Halifax; 121 Fairview Lawn
Cemetery, 19 at Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery and 10 at the Baron de Hirsh Jewish Cemetery.
42 further bodies were unable to be identified and are buried in Halifax under tombstones
that simply read the date of the disaster.
A further 59 bodies were claimed by family members and taken away for burial elsewhere.
So, some scattered, some rescued, what of the rest.
A month after the sinking, a lifeboat with three totting bodies was discovered 200 nautical
miles from the wreck site by the passing RMS Oceanic.
That was the last of the titanic to be discovered.
No official debris or artifacts from the titanic washed ashore as the boat sank so far away
from the coastline, although what may have been a titanic vest was found in the Canadian
Maritimes, although there was no body.
Those who were lost and floating at sea would likely have been eaten by sea life or decomposed.
But what of those still aboard?
Well of the 1,160 missing bodies, hundreds of them where in, on or around the ship when
it sank, meaning they were dragged to the murky depths with it.
The Titanic wreck is sitting 12,500ft – that is 2.37 miles - down on the ocean bed, 370
miles off the coast of Newfoundland.
It lays in two pieces a third of a mile apart.
The bodies of the passengers and crew who were sucked down would have been scattered
across the seabed.
But now, 107 years later, could we still find them?
Movie maker James Cameron, who created the Titanic film, has been down there three times
and he says bodies, even just skeletal remains, are nowhere to be seen.
At 12 thousand feet down, skeletons dissolve very quickly under the pressure.
Hauntingly, though, what is left of the bodies are the pairs of shoes they were wearing when
they died, why?
Because shoes back then were treated with tannic acid, which means they are protected
and less likely to dissolve.
Have a listen to this – CLIP - how sad!
While there may be microclimates in various pockets of the ship that could have preserved
a small number of the bodies, it is unlikely they will see the surface again.
The Titanic Is a UNSESCO world heritage protected site and it would break apart of it were ever
raised.
The bottom of the ocean bed, 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland is the final resting
place of the ship and hundreds of others lost at sea.
So guys that is what happened to the bodies of the titanic victims.
I hope you found this video as interesting as I did.
The sinking of the great ship was one of the most important moments in maritime history
and from there on, no ship was launched without enough lifeboats, thank goodness.
What did you think to this video, let me know in the comments section down below.
Also don’t forget to let me know if you have seen Titanic ! Show me you like this
video by leaving a thumbs up and sharing it with a friend.
Before I go I want to read some comments from a previous video, What if the beliefs of Scientology
Were Real.
This is what you had to say : AJ Welsh Said: Lord Xenu commands that you
give him all your money...or something else ridiculous I don’t know...don’t sue me
David Miscavige.
Shadow Bear said: You better watch yourself, Rebecca!
They’ll run a smear campaign against you as a Suppressive Person and LBQ as a Suppressive
Channel (SC).
Regardless, nothing could make me dislike your channel!
Keep up the great work!
Yikes, you are right.
I tried not to be too disparaging, though!
Joseph Bar Said: Life biggest questions on a Monday (sing Craig David)
Thanks for watching.
I am your host Rebecca Felgate, I’ll catch you in the next video, but until then please
do stay curious, stay alert and never ever stop questioning!