Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Getty
When the Titanic sank in the early morning hours of April 15, 1912, survivors had to wait about two hours before the RMS Carpathia arrived in response to the doomed ship’s distress calls. During this time, they waited with just the hope that rescue would come—though, while floating in the desolate and frigid waters of the North Atlantic, that was far from certain.
Rescuers did eventually arrive, taking the survivors on board and providing them with blankets, hot coffee, food, and medical aid. The crew of the Carpathia were later hailed as heroes and the captain, Arthur Rostron, was even knighted by King George V.
Today, the response to such a disaster would look much different—as we recently learned with the OceanGate tragedy that claimed the lives of five crew members aboard the Titan submersible. In the days following the Titan losing contact with its expedition vessel, an international effort of search and rescue teams mobilized in an attempt to find and save any of the potential survivors.