10 Deadliest Ship Disasters Ever

Number 10. British ocean liner RMS Lusitania travelled the route between Liverpool, England and New York City. During World War I, the ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat 11 miles off the coast of Ireland. A second internal explosion sent her to the bottom in 18 minutes, causing the deaths of 1,198 passengers and crew. She had made a total of 202 transatlantic crossings before the tragedy. The sinking turned public opinion in many countries against Germany, contributing to the American entry into World War I, and became an iconic symbol in military recruiting campaigns of why the war was being fought. Number 9. We all know the story behind the RMS Titanic. The Titanic was a passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912. After colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton in the UK to New York, the ship gradually filled with water and sank. Passengers and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which were launched only partially filled. Just before 2.20 in the morning, the Titanic broke up and sank bow first, with over a thousand people still on board. Those in the water died within minutes from hypothermia caused by immersion in the freezing ocean. The 710 survivors were taken aboard from the lifeboats on the RMS Carpathia a few hours later. The sinking of Titanic caused the death of 1,514 people in the third deadliest non-military maritime disaster in history. Number 8. Despite still being the worst maritime disaster in US history, the explosion and resulting sinking of the SS Sultana was barely noticed at the time, as John Wilkes Booth had been killed the day before and the Civil War had ended earlier that week. Three of the steamboat's boilers exploded on April 27, 1865. The ship was near Memphis, Tennessee at the time. The passengers that survived the initial blast had to decide whether to risk staying on the burning ship or entering the freezing water. As a result, most of the deaths were caused by either drowning or hypothermia. Number 7. At least 1,863 people died when the Senegalese ferry, the MV Lajoula, capsized on September 26, 2002. The sinking of the ferry Lajoula is thought to be the second worst non-military maritime disaster in number of lives lost after the Dauna Paz. The ferry was reportedly loaded to overcapacity, so when it ran into a storm, it quickly capsized within five minutes of hitting rough weather. Of the estimated 2,000 passengers, only around 64 survived, including only one woman, Mariama Duf, who was pregnant at the time. Out of the more than 600 female passengers aboard. Number 6. On September 6, 1917, Halifax, Canada was devastated by a massive blast. It was caused by the SS Mont Blanc colliding with the SS Imo, not far off the coast. The SS Mont Blanc, a French ship, was loaded with explosives and caught fire immediately after the collision. Twenty-five minutes later, the ship blew up. The fire, resulting debris, and collapsing buildings killed around 2,000. The explosion also caused a tsunami in the Halifax harbor and a pressure wave of air that demolished buildings and snapped trees. Number 5. A Chinese passenger steamship, the SS Kayanga, blew up on December 4, 1948. It is believed that the ship, which was carrying mostly Chinese refugees fleeing the communist government, hit a Japanese mine left over from World War II. The exact death toll is unknown. Although her official capacity was 1,186 passengers, the manifest listed 2,150, and she was almost certainly carrying many additional stowaways. Rescuers were unaware of the disaster for some hours. It is thought that between 2,750 and 3,920 people died, with 700 survivors being picked up by other vessels. Number 4. RMS Lancastria was a British canard liner commandeered by the UK government for war. She was sunk on June 17, 1940 during World War II, with at least 4,000 casualties and possibly a great many more. This is considered to be the worst loss of life in the sinking of a single British ship and the bloodiest single engagement for UK forces in terms of lives lost in all of World War II. This disaster claimed more lives than the combined losses of the Titanic and Lusitania. Number 3. Philippine-registered passenger ferry Donna Paz sank after colliding with the MT Vector on December 20, 1987. With a possible death toll of 4,375 people, the collision resulted in the deadliest ferry disaster in history during peacetime. While most of the passengers slept during the night of December 20, the ferry collided with the Vector, which was carrying 8,800 barrels of gasoline. The impact caused a fire which quickly spread on the Donna Paz, as well as lighting the surrounding water on fire. The life jackets aboard the Donna Paz were reportedly locked up, forcing passengers to jump into flaming, shark-infested waters in order to attempt escape. Number 2. The German transport ship the Goya had 6,100 documented passengers on board and possibly hundreds more undocumented when it was struck on April 16, 1945 by a Soviet submarine in the Baltic Sea during World War II. Just seven minutes after being struck by the torpedo, the ship sank, killing almost all of the passengers and crew aboard, either inside the ship or outside by drowning and hypothermia in the icy waters. This disaster is largely believed to be the second worst in maritime history based on the number of casualties. The ship was loaded with women and children, and only two children were among the 183 passengers who survived. Number 1. The German hospital ship the MV Wilhelm Gustloff set sail on its final voyage from Guinea, Poland to Kiel, Germany, where they were to evacuate German refugees in the last days of World War II. The official passenger manifest listed 6,050 people on board, but many civilians had boarded without being recorded. In fact, an estimated 10,582 passengers and crew were on the doomed ship. On January 30, 1945, a Soviet sub spotted the MV Wilhelm Gustloff and fired four torpedoes into the ship. The overcrowded passengers panicked, and many were trampled in the rush-for-life boats. It was a cold night, so contact with the icy Baltic Sea water was fatal within minutes. The best estimates put the number of dead at around 9,400, making the MV Wilhelm Gustloff disaster the deadliest in maritime history. Thanks a lot for watching. Also, don't forget to check out our previous video.