Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
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- Jul 11, 2008
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Hundreds of deaths in only 17 meters deep water ...!
On the evening of March 17th, 1891, the British steamer "Utopia" entered the port of Gibraltar in stormy weather and the resulting poor visibility.
The ship - of which there is unfortunately only this one bad picture, comes from Trieste, has made a stopover in Naples, is now on its way to New York, and almost crammed with Italian emigrants!
880 people crowd in the so-called "intermediate deck", including 85 women and 67 children - and an additional three "stowaways" who snuck on board in Naples!
The first class, on the other hand, has three passengers to themselves.
Because of the bad weather, almost the entire British Mediterranean fleet is anchored in Gibraltar that evening, which means that the port is as crammed with warships as the "Utopia" with people, including - as will turn out later - three "stowaways"!
When "Utopia" Captain John McKeague heads for his usual anchorage, he notices that it is occupied!
There are two British battleships, HMS "Anson" ...
...and HMS "Rodney...:
McKeague is about to initiate an evasive maneuver when the warships switch on their searchlights and point them at the "Utopia".
Blinded in this way, the captain misjudges himself and steers his ship directly onto the massive ramming post of HMS "Anson" ...:
The steel ram post - a prop from bygone times - tears a barn door-sized hole in the side of the "Utopia", the ship immediately begins to sink!
At the same time, the "Utopia" gets a strong list, which makes it impossible to launch the lifeboats.
Panic breaks out among the passengers; Hundreds are trapped below deck, they understand the crew's English instructions just as little as the signs, cannot find the exits to the upper deck, or cannot reach them due to the list.
After almost 20 minutes the "Utopia" sank in the harbor and lies aground, only the masts and the chimney top still protrude from the water, which is only 17 meters deep ...:
Although the Royal Navy immediately tried to rescue the sea, ships and boats could not get close enough to the survivors floating in the water.
Only 318 survivors can eventually be pulled out of the cold water, including two of the three first class passengers - and all three "stowaways"!
Also two sailors from the armored cruiser HMS "Immortalité" ...
... drown during the rescue work!
This photo was taken on the day after the disaster:
It shows units of the British Mediterranean fleet and in the centre on the right the underlying "Utopia" near HMS "Anson"...:
After the accident, Captain McKeague was first arrested, then released on bail, but was later awarded sole responsibility by a maritime court for "serious errors in assessing the situation". His career is over - and he is a broken man ...:
Shortly after the accident, divers were sent to the wreck, reporting "hundreds of corpses" that were "crammed so closely together that they could hardly be separated from each other".
On the evening of March 17th, 1891, the British steamer "Utopia" entered the port of Gibraltar in stormy weather and the resulting poor visibility.
The ship - of which there is unfortunately only this one bad picture, comes from Trieste, has made a stopover in Naples, is now on its way to New York, and almost crammed with Italian emigrants!
880 people crowd in the so-called "intermediate deck", including 85 women and 67 children - and an additional three "stowaways" who snuck on board in Naples!
The first class, on the other hand, has three passengers to themselves.
Because of the bad weather, almost the entire British Mediterranean fleet is anchored in Gibraltar that evening, which means that the port is as crammed with warships as the "Utopia" with people, including - as will turn out later - three "stowaways"!
When "Utopia" Captain John McKeague heads for his usual anchorage, he notices that it is occupied!
There are two British battleships, HMS "Anson" ...
...and HMS "Rodney...:
McKeague is about to initiate an evasive maneuver when the warships switch on their searchlights and point them at the "Utopia".
Blinded in this way, the captain misjudges himself and steers his ship directly onto the massive ramming post of HMS "Anson" ...:
The steel ram post - a prop from bygone times - tears a barn door-sized hole in the side of the "Utopia", the ship immediately begins to sink!
At the same time, the "Utopia" gets a strong list, which makes it impossible to launch the lifeboats.
Panic breaks out among the passengers; Hundreds are trapped below deck, they understand the crew's English instructions just as little as the signs, cannot find the exits to the upper deck, or cannot reach them due to the list.
After almost 20 minutes the "Utopia" sank in the harbor and lies aground, only the masts and the chimney top still protrude from the water, which is only 17 meters deep ...:
Although the Royal Navy immediately tried to rescue the sea, ships and boats could not get close enough to the survivors floating in the water.
Only 318 survivors can eventually be pulled out of the cold water, including two of the three first class passengers - and all three "stowaways"!
Also two sailors from the armored cruiser HMS "Immortalité" ...
... drown during the rescue work!
This photo was taken on the day after the disaster:
It shows units of the British Mediterranean fleet and in the centre on the right the underlying "Utopia" near HMS "Anson"...:
After the accident, Captain McKeague was first arrested, then released on bail, but was later awarded sole responsibility by a maritime court for "serious errors in assessing the situation". His career is over - and he is a broken man ...:
Shortly after the accident, divers were sent to the wreck, reporting "hundreds of corpses" that were "crammed so closely together that they could hardly be separated from each other".
