100th anniversary of Titanic sinking

2012-04-13 2

Sunday will mark 100 years since the sinking of the Titanic.

The luxury cruise liner set sail from Belfast on April 10, 1912.

But her maiden voyage was to be her last.

Four days in, she struck an iceberg.

Over two thousand people were on board, many emigrating to America.

In less than three hours the supposedly "unsinkable" vessel broke in two and sank.

RMS Carpathia was the first ship to arrive on the scene, picking up some 700 survivors and taking them to New York.

In 1985 advances in deep-sea technology led to the discovery of the wreck.

Thousands of Titanic artefacts have been recovered during numerous expeditions and memorabilia attracts keen interest at auction.

The story has inspired several movies, including James Cameron's blockbuster "Titanic".

A 3d version has been released to commemorate the anniversary.

Lily Grimes, Reuters