Fog caused one of Canada’s deadliest-ever shipwrecks
Two ships collided in a thick bank of fog on May 29, 1914, resulting in a disaster that claimed more than 1,000 lives
One of the deadliest maritime disasters in Canadian history claimed more than 1,000 lives when two ships collided off the Quebec coast in May 1914.
The wreck was so severe that safety measures implemented after the Titanic’s sinking just two years earlier couldn’t save the ship or most of the souls aboard.
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Two ships collide in heavy fog
The RMS Empress of Ireland set sail from Quebec City on a long journey toward Liverpool, England. After several stops along the Saint Lawrence River, the ship finally began sailing toward open waters on May 29.
Thick fog is common off the coast this time of year as warm, moist air moves over colder waters. A blanket of heavy fog filled the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River just as the Empress of Ireland reached the region during the wee morning hours.
Nearby, a Norwegian freighter named the Storstad unknowingly approached the Empress of Ireland at high speed. Despite several warnings, the incoming ship couldn’t stop in time.
The Storstad broadsided the Empress of Ireland, breaking open a large hole in the latter through which a tremendous amount of frigid water entered.
Water filled and sank the passenger ship within minutes, claiming more than 1,000 lives. The only deadlier maritime disaster in Canadian history was the infamous 1917 explosion in Halifax Harbour.
Fog is a major hazard to all modes of transportation
Fog is a deadly threat by land, air, and sea.
Low visibility contributed to two jumbo jets colliding on the runway in Tenerife on March 27, 1977, killing more than 500 people in the world’s deadliest aviation disaster.
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A wayward ship near Mobile, Alabama, crashed into a railroad bridge on a foggy night in September 1993, causing one of the U.S.’s deadliest train accidents in modern history.
Thick fog has also caused some of Canada’s worst pileup highway accidents, including a deadly 87-vehicle wreck that shut down Highway 401 in September 1999.