Passengers of the RMS Titanic April 1912 at around 11:40 pm, while the RMS "Titanic" was sailing about south of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, the ship struck an iceberg and began to sink. Shortly before midnight, Captain Edward Smith ordered the ship's lifeboats to be readied and a distress call was sent out. The closest ship to respond was Cunard Line's away, which would arrive in an estimated four hours—too late to rescue all of "Titanic" passengers. Forty-five minutes after the ship hit the iceberg, Captain Smith ordered the lifeboats to be loaded and lowered under the orders women and children first. The first
Lifeboats of the RMS Titanic Third Class. Among the occupants was stewardess Violet Jessop who survived the accidents that befell all of the "Olympic"-class liners: the collision of "Olympic" with HMS Hawke in 1911, the sinking of "Titanic" in 1912, and that of "Britannic" in 1916. About 58 people were aboard Boat 14, with Wilde, Lightoller and Lowe supervising its launch. By the time it was launched at about 1:30 a.m., "Titanic" was well down in the water and some passengers still aboard were beginning to panic. Lowe fired three shots from his revolver to warn off a crowd of passengers pressing up against the