On a flat-calm, moonless night 370 miles off Newfoundland, the largest ship in the world strikes an iceberg at 22½ knots. Six watertight compartments are opened to the sea — she can survive four. This simulation follows the historical timeline of the next 2 hours and 40 minutes, minute by minute.
The stern slips beneath a sea as still as glass. Over 1,500 people are left in water of −2 °C. The lifeboats, most launched half-full, row away from the cries. At 4:10 AM the Cunarder Carpathia arrives to take aboard the survivors.