Comments by "Andrew Brendan" (@andrewbrendan1579) on "The Yarmouth Castle Disaster | A Short Documentary | Fascinating Horror" video.

  1. Maybe lifejackets had changed in the time between 1934 and 1965 but I've read that when the liner Morro Castle burned in 1934, some of the people who jumped overboard while wearing life jackets died of broken necks caused by the life jackets and the impact of hitting the water. I'm not sure but maybe the life jackets got pushed upward and caused people's necks to snap. At least it was a quick death and better than being trapped in the fire.
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  2.  @Cramblit  Horrifying but useful information---which I hope I never experience for myself
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  3. Quite a few years ago now I read a book called "Fourteen Minutes" about the sinking of the Canadian-Pacific Line's ocean liner Empress of Ireland in 1914. Canadian-Pacific, after the Titanic disaster two years earlier, had a rule that crew members were to become so familiarized with the layout of their part of the ship or maybe with the whole ship itself that they could get out onto an open deck even in complete darkness. When the Empress was in a collision with another ship and at night she went over on her side and sank inf 14 minutes with around 1,000 fatalities. Many of the survivors were members of the crew and not because they looked out for themselves and left passengers but because the crew members were familiar with the deck plan and knew where to go while the passengers had boarded only hours before. Crew membes of the Empress of Ireland did what they could for the passengers but there was very little; it was mostly everyone for themselves. Ever since reading that I've encouraged people to become familiar with their surroundings: home, work, school, mall. office building where they have an appointment and to know how to get out. This isn't being paranoid but preventive. There could be a disaster situation or someone committing an act of violence and we need to know how to get to safety.
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