Lifeboats of the RMS Titanic factors contributed to the lifeboats departing with only half capacity. 1,503 people did not make it on to a lifeboat and were aboard "Titanic" when she sank to the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean at 2:20 a.m. on 15 April 1912. 705 people, mostly women and children, remained in the lifeboats until later that morning when they were rescued by RMS "Carpathia". Those aboard the lifeboats were picked up by "Carpathia" over the course of 4 hours and 30 minutes, from about 4 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., and 13 of the lifeboats were also taken aboard. The lifeboats were
RMS Titanic largest number of which were in Third Class. The ship was considerably under capacity on her maiden voyage, as she could accommodate 2,453 passengers—833 First Class, 614 Second Class, and 1,006 Third Class. Usually, a high prestige vessel like "Titanic" could expect to be fully booked on its maiden voyage. However, a national coal strike in the UK had caused considerable disruption to shipping schedules in the spring of 1912, causing many crossings to be cancelled. Many would-be passengers chose to postpone their travel plans until the strike was over. The strike had finished a few days before "Titanic" sailed;