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7,000 people killed in biggest shipwreck of WWII
Pravda.RU
05/05/2005 17:51
Only eight passengers of the sanitary boat survived the attack of
Nazi aviation in 1941
Ukrainian scientists have recently discovered new details connected
with the sanitary boat Armenia, which sank in November of 1941 in
the Black Sea and became the largest shipwreck during WWII.
A German torpedo-bomber plane attacked the Armenia on November 7th,
1941. The ship sank in only four minutes, killing about 7,000 not
5,000 passengers as it was believed before. The passengers were
mainly wounded servicemen, Ukrainian archaeologist Sergei Voronov
said. "There were about 2,000 unregistered passengers on board the
ship. Most likely, they boarded the boat at doctors' request," the
scientist said. "Only eight people survived the shipwreck - a rescue
boat, which escorted the Armenia, saved those people," Voronov added.
The sunken boat is resting at the depth of 472 meters. Researchers
are going to organize a special underwater mission to the boat at
the end of May. It is noteworthy that it was very hard to locate the
underwater location of the sunken ship-hospital. Armenia's radio
operator and the pilot of the German plane transmitted different
position data about the site of the sea, where the boat sank.
A German bomber plane attacked the boat with torpedoes at the distance
of 25 miles off the Crimean Peninsula. The Armenia was a double-decker
passenger and cargo ship.
Anastacia Popova was one of the few passengers, who were lucky to
survive the terrible shipwreck. "It was really hard for me to evacuate
from the city of Yalta. The Armenia was packed with wounded patients
and refugees. When the German aviation attacked the boat and it
started sinking, it was more than just a hellish experience. People
were rushing about the deck, trying to save their lives. I jumped
overboard and swam towards the shore. I was very weak and hardly had
any energy. I do not even remember how I found myself on the seashore,"
Anastacia recollects.
Another person witnessed the tragedy from the shore: "Hardly had the
boat reached the open sea, when a group of German planes attacked
it. It goes without saying that Nazi pilots could see big red crosses
on the ship. Nevertheless, they started bombing the vessel. We could
hear both bomb explosions and people's screaming," the eyewitness said.
It is noteworthy that the ship was marked with red crosses not only
on its sides, but on the deck too. The German pilots ignored the
signs. The bombs split the ship into two and it went straight to
the bottom of the sea. Local war veterans lay wreaths on the water
surface around the area of the terrible shipwreck every year on May
9th, to honor 7,000 people, who died in the tragedy.
Pravda.RU
05/05/2005 17:51
Only eight passengers of the sanitary boat survived the attack of
Nazi aviation in 1941
Ukrainian scientists have recently discovered new details connected
with the sanitary boat Armenia, which sank in November of 1941 in
the Black Sea and became the largest shipwreck during WWII.
A German torpedo-bomber plane attacked the Armenia on November 7th,
1941. The ship sank in only four minutes, killing about 7,000 not
5,000 passengers as it was believed before. The passengers were
mainly wounded servicemen, Ukrainian archaeologist Sergei Voronov
said. "There were about 2,000 unregistered passengers on board the
ship. Most likely, they boarded the boat at doctors' request," the
scientist said. "Only eight people survived the shipwreck - a rescue
boat, which escorted the Armenia, saved those people," Voronov added.
The sunken boat is resting at the depth of 472 meters. Researchers
are going to organize a special underwater mission to the boat at
the end of May. It is noteworthy that it was very hard to locate the
underwater location of the sunken ship-hospital. Armenia's radio
operator and the pilot of the German plane transmitted different
position data about the site of the sea, where the boat sank.
A German bomber plane attacked the boat with torpedoes at the distance
of 25 miles off the Crimean Peninsula. The Armenia was a double-decker
passenger and cargo ship.
Anastacia Popova was one of the few passengers, who were lucky to
survive the terrible shipwreck. "It was really hard for me to evacuate
from the city of Yalta. The Armenia was packed with wounded patients
and refugees. When the German aviation attacked the boat and it
started sinking, it was more than just a hellish experience. People
were rushing about the deck, trying to save their lives. I jumped
overboard and swam towards the shore. I was very weak and hardly had
any energy. I do not even remember how I found myself on the seashore,"
Anastacia recollects.
Another person witnessed the tragedy from the shore: "Hardly had the
boat reached the open sea, when a group of German planes attacked
it. It goes without saying that Nazi pilots could see big red crosses
on the ship. Nevertheless, they started bombing the vessel. We could
hear both bomb explosions and people's screaming," the eyewitness said.
It is noteworthy that the ship was marked with red crosses not only
on its sides, but on the deck too. The German pilots ignored the
signs. The bombs split the ship into two and it went straight to
the bottom of the sea. Local war veterans lay wreaths on the water
surface around the area of the terrible shipwreck every year on May
9th, to honor 7,000 people, who died in the tragedy.