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And, of course, compared to the sinkings with the largest loss of lives, neither the Eastland nor the Titanic seems particularly -hm, for want of a better word
by lb1lf 6y ago
And, of course, compared to the sinkings with the largest loss of lives, neither the Eastland nor the Titanic seems particularly -hm, for want of a better word - impressive.
The Wilhelm Gustloff, sunk in the Baltic Sea in the closing months of WW2 - 10,000 lives lost. The Goya, sunk in the same waters in April 1945, cost approx. 7,000 lives.
The worst peacetime accident was in the mid-eighties, when the Philippine ferry Doña Paz capsized, killing more than 4,000 people.
- eindiran 6y agoSomething that makes the Eastland quite horrifying is that it didn't take place far out at sea: it took place in the Chicago River. I don't know if you've spent any time in Chicago, but the river goes through the heart of the city. You're walking to the market and you hear some hubbub by the river. You turn the corner, and boom, suddenly you see a few thousand people get flipped into the water and start drowning. Even if "only" 800 of them actually drown, it's still a horrifying thing to see.
- jonny_eh 6y agoAnd then compare to the current pandemic, that a lot of people are trying to downplay.
- rdtsc 6y agoWillhelm Gustloff is a crazy story. The captain who sunk it was https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Marinesko https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Marinesko. He was reprimanded for being a drunk and for gambling and was facing court martial. Then only later after his death awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union award (the highest award) and had streets and museums named after him.