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Saturday May 11, 2024

Titanic curses: The ship sank, the curse survived

Tragedies linked to the Titanic unfold leading people to believe it may have been cursed from the start following the disappearance of a submersible vessel

By Web Desk
June 20, 2023
Undated artist impression showing the 1912 shipwreck of the British luxury passenger liner Titanic during its maiden voyage. — AFP/File
Undated artist impression showing the 1912 shipwreck of the British luxury passenger liner Titanic during its maiden voyage. — AFP/File

Following the disappearance of a submersible tourist vessel in the Atlantic, the Titanic's curse has struck once more. The five people on board the missing vessel used to transport wealthy tourists to the wreck also include British billionaire Hamish Harding.

The famous ship, four days after embarking on its infamous journey in 1912, sank after colliding with an iceberg, killing 1,500 of the 2,200 passengers on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.

The jinxed ship giant of its time, even after a century, has resulted in even more tragedy, and there is currently a desperate search effort underway to find the missing people.

However, this is not the first time the Titanic has been linked to a tragedy. The ill-fated Titanic has been linked to numerous tragedies, leading some to surmise that it was cursed from the start.

The tragedy of the ship's sinking a century ago, according to the Daily Star, brought along a variety of observations from people who were connected to the ship in some way. They related various signs that made them think that the ship and those on board were destined to suffer a tragic end.

The tragic deaths amid cursed construction

In an unprecedented event, destruction occurred even before the renowned ocean liner was fully constructed. Its construction began in Belfast in 1909, and eight Harland and Wolff employees died while working on the project.

Samuel Joseph Scott broke his skull when he fell from a ladder, while John Kelly died when he fell from the ship two months later.

Additionally, James Dobbin was crushed by timber, while William Clarke, one of the drillers, passed away from pneumonia following a fall. Robert James Murphy, another man who passed away, had a skull fracture as a result of an unintentional fall.

Fire in the middle of the sea

Another unfavourable sign occurred when a fire started in the coal bunkers while construction was underway.

The British steamship that was making headlines as "unsinkable," had accommodations for first-class, second-class, and third-class passengers and was built to carry thousands of people across the Atlantic.

Tragically, the deaths of the shipbuilders who toiled endlessly to prepare it were only the beginning of its curse, which we now know is still taking place today.

However, just before this, about 50 already-paid passengers refused to board at the last minute out of concern that something bad would happen.

Close call

The ship gave observers a preview of its tragic end right before leaving for its journey.

According to the Daily Star, the hawsers holding the SS New York close by in place broke when Captain Smith started the Titanic's engines because of the suction.

As the ships drifted towards each other, there were sounds similar to gunshots, but Smith was able to turn the port propeller around to avoid a collision.

Alas! the ship and its ill fate meet

On April 14, at approximately 11:30 pm, the $7.5 million Titanic struck an iceberg and eventually sank.

The Titanic Disaster: Omens, Mysteries, and Misfortunes was written by author James Bancroft, who later stated: "There are more strange events concerning the RMS Titanic than any other ship in history, and the feelings of foreboding and bad omens associated with it suggest that fate had it doomed to a watery grave."

He added: "The iceberg was just the weapon that sent it there."

After three years of construction, it sank three hours after hitting the iceberg. The fact that there were only 16 lifeboats and four dinghies on board increased the magnitude of the disaster.

However, it took nearly 70 years for the ship to be discovered in 1985, lying at the bottom of the Atlantic, despite the fact that more than 300 bodies were recovered from the water.

One officer reportedly shot himself in the head during the accident, so not all of the passengers perished by drowning.

The curse's prey: A missing submersible

The Titanic's curse is causing tragedies that can be observed even today after a submersible ship bound for the ship's wreckage vanished without a trace in the Atlantic Ocean

Tourists were transported in the submarine to the Titanic wreck, which served as the inspiration for the blockbuster movie starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet. However, since it vanished, there has been a significant search effort.

According to reports, one of the people on board the submersible who went missing on Sunday morning is a British billionaire, and now searchers are in a race against time to find it. The wreck is situated about 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

It is yet to be known if the submersible has fallen into the century-old curse's trap or if it can be saved from it.