6 - RESCUE..

The Carpathia arrived in the area at approximately 3:30 AM, more than an hour after the Titanic sank. Lifeboat number 2 was the first to reach the liner. Over the next several hours the Carpathia picked up all survivors. White Star chairman Ismay wrote a message to be sent to the White Star Line's offices: "Deeply regret advise you Titanic sank this morning fifteenth after collision iceberg, resulting serious loss life; further particulars later." At approximately 8:30 AM the Californian arrived, having heard the news some three hours earlier. Shortly before 9:00 AM the Carpathia headed for New York City, where it arrived to massive crowds on April 18.

Aftermath and investigation

Although the majority of dead were crew members and third-class passengers, many of the era's wealthiest and most prominent families lost members, among them Isidor and Ida Straus and John Jacob Astor. In the popular mind, the glamour associated with the ship, its maiden voyage, and its notable passengers magnified the tragedy of its sinking. Legends arose almost immediately about the night's events, those who had died, and those who survived. Heroes and heroines—such as American Molly Brown, who helped command a lifeboat, and Capt. Arthur Henry Rostron of the Carpathia—were identified and celebrated by the press. Others—notably Ismay, who had found space in a lifeboat and survived—were vilified. There was a strong desire to explain the tragedy, and inquiries into the sinking were held in the United States and Great Britain.

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