The day of the worst sea disaster – level 1

30-01-1945

It is winter 1945. A big ship in the Baltic Sea is going to Germany. The ship is full of people who are running away from the Russian army. There are 10,582 people on the ship.

On January 30, 1945, a Russian submarine sees the ship. The order is clear, “Sink every big German ship.“

The submarine sends 4 torpedoes. Three torpedoes hit the ship. All the people on the ship start to fight for their lives.

The temperature is minus 18 degrees Celsius. It is so cold that 5 of 11 lifeboats are frozen to the ship. It isn’t possible to use these lifeboats.

The big ship sinks in 50 minutes. 9,343 people die in the disaster. No other sea disaster takes so many lives.

Difficult words: order (an instruction), sink (to send under water), torpedo (a weapon which travels under water), to fight for their lives (to try to survive), lifeboat (a small boat on a big ship), frozen (when water is frozen, it is hard).

What actions can be taken in order to avoid a similar tragedy in the future?

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