14

At 1:59 a.m., with great difficulty, some lifeboats were launched.
29 May 1914
Empress of Ireland

Credits:
Illustration: Jean-Pierre Vallée
Adaptation of witness testimonies: Denis Leblond
Narration: Louis Amyot

15

The crew members already at their stations attempted to launch the lifeboats, but the weight of the boats (2 tons), the complexity of the maneuver and the listing of the ship made launching the portside lifeboats impossible.Only 5 of the 21 starboard lifeboats were launched hurriedly. Very few people boarded them. It was every man for himself.

16

At 2:00 a.m., the coal ship Storstad launched its lifeboats.
29 May 1914
About 11 km northeast of the Pointe-au-Père lighthouse

Credits:
Illustration: Jean-Pierre Vallée
Adaptation of witness testimonies: Denis Leblond
Narration: Louis Amyot

17

On board the Storstad, the crew inspected the damage and observed that the ship was not at risk of sinking. Suddenly, they heard the cries of the Empress of Ireland's passengers. The Storstad's 4 lifeboats were launched immediately.

18

At 2:01 a.m., the ship, listing sharply, allowed the passengers little chance to escape.
29 May 1914
Empress of Ireland

Credits:
Illustration: Jean-Pierre Vallée
Adaptation of witness testimonies: Denis Leblond
Narration: Louis Amyot

19

Ronald Ferguson, chief telegraphist, sent an SOS and mentioned that the ship was listing rapidly. He sent an approximate position to the Pointe-au-Père station. Suddenly, the dynamos stopped working. The electricity was out.

With the ship listing more and more, the passengers, plunged into blackness, found it increasingly difficult to reach the outside decks. The water, which had already flooded most of the second and third class cabins on the starboard side, doomed hundreds of people.

20

At 2:04 a.m., the ship was listing sharply.
29 May 1914
Empress of Ireland

Credits:
Illustration: Jean-Pierre Vallée
Adaptation of witness testimonies: Denis Leblond
Narration: Louis Amyot, Carole Faucher

21

The ship was listing at more than 60 degrees. Many passengers slipped on the decks, crashing into structural elements as they fell. Others fell into the water. Both inside and outside, heavy objects, such as lifeboats and derricks, broke away and fell, injuring and killing many people.

22

At 2:06 a.m., the ship was lying on its side.
29 May 1914
About 11 km northeast of the Pointe-au-Père lighthouse

Credits:
Illustration: Jean-Pierre Vallée
Adaptation of witness testimonies: Denis Leblond
Narration: Louis Amyot

23

Just as the liner capsized, Captain Kendall, still at the helm of his ship, was thrown overboard. The two smoke stacks struck the water violently. The rear stack crushed a lifeboat and its occupants.

The cold water which then entered through the smoke stacks reached the boilers and made them explode. Several people barely escaped through the portholes and joined about one hundred other passengers on the side of the Empress of Ireland.

24

Illustration from a newspaper at the time depicting a moment during the tragedy
June 1914
About 11 km northeast of the Pointe-au-Père lighthouse

Credits:
The Sphere

25

At 2:09 a.m., the ship sank under the icy waters of the river.
29 May 1914
About 11 km northeast of the Pointe-au-Père lighthouse

Credits:
Illustration: Jean-Pierre Vallée
Adaptation of witness testimonies: Denis Leblond
Narration: Louis Amyot

26

The Empress of Ireland disappeared under the St. Lawrence. A short time later some castaways, carried by the suction of the sinking liner, returned to the surface. Plunged into 2ºC water, many died of hypothermia.

27

The coal ship Storstad after the collision
1914
St. Lawrence River

Credits:
Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père