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Sinking of the Steamship Lexington
Topic Started: Mar 1 2010, 06:43 PM (216 Views)
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January 14, 1840

Over 100 people perished in a tragic steamship accident off the coast of New York last night when the SS Lexington, a paddlewheel steamer traveling from Manhattan to Boston, caught fire and sank in the icy waters of the Atlantic.

Around 7:30 p.m. on the 13th, the crew noticed the smokestack was in flames. Officers manned water buckets and pumps to douse the fire, but they were unable to prevent it from spreading rapidly. The captain then ordered the ship's lifeboats to prepare for launching. The first of these was pulled into the side wheels shortly after it had been lowered, killing everyone on board; the other two did not have their rigging managed properly due to the confusion and capsized upon hitting the water.

Most of the people who jumped overboard had little to cling to and died of hypothermia. Of the 143 passengers and crew, only four survived.

An inquest is scheduled to look into the cause of this awful event.
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