It’s been more than a century since the famous Titanic sank after striking an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean.
But stunning new images now reveal its demise in ground-breaking detail.
Experts at deep-sea mapping company Magellan Ltd have snapped the wrecked luxury liner from new angles about 12,500 feet below the ocean’s surface.
The digital scans, published by the BBC, reveal a new view of the boiler room near where the liner split in two.
Some of the boilers are concave, which suggests they were still operating as they were plunged into the icy water.
Meanwhile, punctures in the hull ‘the size of A4 pieces of paper’ caused the ship’s speedy demise – just two hours and 40 minutes after it hit the iceberg.
‘Titanic is the last surviving eyewitness to the disaster, and she still has stories to tell,’ Titanic analyst Parks Stephenson told the BBC.
‘Having a comprehensive view of the entirety of the wreck site is key to understanding what happened here.’
Experts at deep-sea mapping company Magellan Ltd have snapped the wrecked luxury liner from new angles about 12,500 feet below ocean surface. Pictured, the bow (front of the ship)
The images, published by the BBC, reveal a new view of the boiler room near where the liner split in two. Some of the boilers (pictured) are concave (they curve inwards), which suggests they were still operating as they were plunged into the icy water
The grandest ship: RMS Titanic departing on its maiden voyage from Southampton on April 10, 1912. The remains now lie on the seafloor about 350 nautical miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada
Also revealed by the scans is a valve in an open position, indicating that steam was still flowing into Titanic’s electricity generating system.
This backs up eyewitness reports from the fateful night that a team of brave engineers worked right to the end to keep the ship’s lights on.
The team led by Cumbria-born engineer Joseph Bell worked to shovel coal into the furnaces to keep the lights on.
All died in the disaster but their heroic actions saved many lives by giving crew time to launch the lifeboats safely, Mr Stephenson told the BBC.
‘They held the chaos at bay as long as possible, and all of that was kind of symbolised by this open steam valve just sitting there on the stern,’ he said.
The scans have been studied for a new documentary by National Geographic and Atlantic Productions called ‘Titanic: The Digital Resurrection’.
It follows the first batch of digital scans images from Magellan Ltd released two years ago that revealed the 3D reconstruction of the wreck.
Magellan Ltd sent submersibles to survey all parts of the wreck, which lies around 13,000 feet under the water’s surface.
Pictured, the heavily-damaged stern of the ship (the rear or aft-most part of the vessel) which slammed into the sea bed so hard it distorted its shape
Also revealed by the scans is a valve in an open position, indicating that steam was still flowing into Titanic’s electricity generating system
As well as the imagery, a new simulation reconstructs RMS Titanic and the damage caused that tragic night nearly 113 years ago exactly.
According to research leader Jeom-Kee Paik at University College London, Titanic only made a glancing blow against the iceberg.
RMS Titanic – owned and operated by British company White Star Line – tragically sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912 after a collision with an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean, killing an estimated 1,517 of the 2,224 people on board.
The remains now lie on the seafloor about 350 nautical miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
However, the delicate wreck is deteriorating so rapidly underwater that it could disappear completely within the next 40 years.
Titanic broke in half just before it made its final plunge in the early hours of April 15, 1912, and now two parts of the ship – the bow and the stern – lie 2,600 feet apart.
Titanic’s stern (the back of the ship) is a twisted mess of metal after it hit the ocean floor still rotating in a counter-clockwise direction.
The V-shaped bow is more recognisable, complete with railings, although much of it is buried under mud due to the force of impact.
Both halves are surrounded by a field of debris consisting of bits of metal, pieces of furniture, unopened champagne bottles and even passengers’ shoes.
The wreck wasn’t located until September 1, 1985 – a discovery that made global headlines.
DISASTER IN THE ATLANTIC: HOW MORE THAN 1,500 LOST THEIR LIVES WHEN THE TITANIC SUNK
The RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912, after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.
More than 1,500 people died when the ship, which was carrying 2,224 passengers and crew, sank under the command of Captain Edward Smith.
Some of the wealthiest people in the world were on board, including property tycoon John Jacob Astor IV, great grandson of John Jacob Astor, founder of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
Constructed by Belfast-based shipbuilders Harland and Wolff between 1909 and 1912, the RMS Titanic was the largest ship afloat of her time
Millionaire Benjamin Guggenheim, heir to his family’s mining business, also perished, along with Isidor Straus, the German-born co-owner of Macy’s department store.
The ship was the largest afloat at the time and was designed in such a way that it was meant to be ‘unsinkable’.
It had an on-board gym, libraries, swimming pool and several restaurants and luxury first class cabins.
There were not enough lifeboats on board for all the passengers due to out-of-date maritime safety regulations.
After leaving Southampton on April 10, 1912, Titanic called at Cherbourg in France and Queenstown in Ireland before heading to New York.
On April 14, 1912, four days into the crossing, she hit an iceberg at 11:40pm local time.
James Moody was on night watch when the collision happened and took the call from the watchman, asking him: ‘What do you see?’ The man responded: ‘Iceberg, dead ahead.’
By 2.20am, with hundreds of people still on board, the ship plunged beneath the waves, taking many, including Moody, with it.
Despite repeated distress calls being sent out and flares launched from the decks, the first rescue ship, the RMS Carpathia, arrived nearly two hours later, pulling more than 700 people from the water.
It was not until 1985 that the wreck of the ship was discovered in two pieces on the ocean floor.
