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A detailed digital scan of the Titanic has made new revelations about the ship’s final moments. The scan confirmed the reports that engineers worked until the end to keep the lights on. The 3D model was created using underwater robots that descended 3,800 meters to the Atlantic Ocean floor, capturing over 700,000 images to generate a “digital twin” of the wreck, the BBC reported.
A computer simulation showed that the Titanic‘s sinking was likely caused by a series of small punctures in the hull, each about the size of a piece of paper, created when the ship hit an iceberg in 1912. This damage, which led to the tragedy, claimed at least 1,500 lives. Among the scan’s findings is a porthole that appears to have been smashed by the iceberg, supporting the claims of those who survived that ice flooded passengers’ cabins during the collision.
“The Titanic is the last surviving witness to this tragedy, and it still has stories to tell,” the Independent quoted Titanic analyst Parks Stephenson.
The scan is part of a new documentary by National Geographic and Atlantic Productions, titled Titanic: The Digital Resurrection. Stephenson explained that having a full view of the wreck site is important to understand what happened on the tragic day, likening it to a crime scene investigation.
Despite claims by the ship’s builders that it was unsinkable, the Titanic suffered severe damage when the iceberg punctured six watertight compartments, causing the ship to flood. Passengers reported that the lights were still on as the ship slowly sank.
Experts believe that the engineers who stayed behind to shovel coal into the furnaces to keep the lights on tragically lost their lives, ensuring that the crew had enough light to launch lifeboats, the report said.
The simulation also demonstrated that although the Titanic’s collision with the iceberg was minor, it caused a series of punctures across the hull, leading to a gradual flooding of compartments. “The difference between the Titanic sinking or not comes down to small holes the size of a piece of paper,” said Simon Benson, an associate lecturer in naval architecture at the University of Newcastle.
“But because the holes were spread over such a large area, water flooded into the compartments, eventually sinking the ship,” he added.
The scan also revealed personal belongings of passengers scattered across the seabed near the wreck. Experts stated that the Titanic’s remains are rapidly deteriorating, and the wreck could disappear completely within the next 40 years.
