Victoria steamboat disaster

Victoria steamboat disaster
Time 18:00 EST
Date May 24, 1881
Location London, Ontario
Coordinates 42°58′33″N 81°17′04″W / 42.97581°N 81.28431°W / 42.97581; -81.28431Coordinates: 42°58′33″N 81°17′04″W / 42.97581°N 81.28431°W / 42.97581; -81.28431
Casualties
182

The Victoria steamboat disaster was a Canadian maritime disaster on May 24, 1881, in which an overcrowded passenger boat capsized, killing 182 of its 650 passengers on the Thames River, Ontario.[1]

At 6:00pm, while another ship, the Princess Louise passed the Victoria, many of the passengers crowded over to take a look. The boat careened, and became partially submerged. When passengers reacted by rushing to the other side, the Victoria toppled over, with the second deck of the ship falling on the first.[2] In only 17 feet of calm water, 182 people drowned, or were crushed by the collapse of the ship.[3]


References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 4/8/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.