Titanic sinking was not caused by iceberg, new Channel 4 documentary claims

The Titanic's sinking may actually have been caused by a huge fire according to experts who have studied new evidence relating to the disaster.

The huge ocean liner sank on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in April 1912 with the loss of more than 1,500 passengers. It is well known that the ship hit an iceberg that pierced a huge hole in the hull, causing it to snap in half and eventually sink in the freezing Atlantic waters. But new research suggests the iceberg was not the major cause of the disaster - instead it is now being claimed a huge fire that burned inside the ship was the primary reason for the sinking. Based on photographs taken of the ship before it left Belfast, journalist and Titanic expert Senan Molony was able to spot 30-foot long black marks on the hull - just behind where the iceberg hit. Molony says by the time the 1,000 degree centigrade fire was eventually extinguished, the hull had been made so brittle, that what would have otherwise been a minor collision with an iceberg became a deadly impact. [caption id="attachment_105120" align="alignnone" width="1024"] It is the most famous disaster in maritime history (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)[/caption] "We are looking at the exact area where the iceberg stuck, and we appear to have a weakness or damage to the hull in that specific place, before she even left Belfast," he said. In the Channel 4 documentary entitled Titanic: The New Evidence, broadcast on New Year’s Day, Maloney also said: "The official Titanic inquiry branded [the disaster] as an act of God. This isn’t a simple story of colliding with an iceberg and sinking. "It’s a perfect storm of extraordinary factors coming together: fire, ice and criminal negligence. "Nobody has investigated these marks before. It totally changes the narrative. We have metallurgy experts telling us that when you get that level of temperature against steel it makes it brittle, and reduces its strength by up to 75 per cent. "The fire was known about, but it was played down. She should never have been put to sea."

This article originally appeared on JOE.co.uk.