SOUTHHAMPTON, England – Shortly after midnight this Saturday morning, a hundred years ago, the Titanic slammed into a giant iceburg in the frozen north Atlantic. The ship labelled unsinkable sank into the icy waters rapidly, killing more than 1,500 people. The tragedy of man’s hubris has gripped the imagination and there have been countless events and words around the Titanic since. Last Sunday, another ship carrying the same number of passengers, including some ancestors of Titanic passengers, left England last Sunday to retrace the doomed ship’s voyage, including a visit to where it sank. On board the Balmoral, Jane and Frank Allen, whose great aunt and uncle were on a honeymoon cruise when the ship hit the iceberg and sank. “I think it’s always important to remember,” he told ABC News, talking of his great-uncle who perished. “When you look at the face of the man, you wonder just how he met his end and he was never found, there was no body, he just disappeared on that night.” Some critics have dismissed the cruise as disaster tourism but those on board see it as a chance to remember and honor those who died at sea a hundred years ago. The Balmoral is scheduled to arrive at the exact spot at the exact time the Titanic struck the iceberg close to midnight on April 14, 1912. Kansas City’s Union Station is hosting an exhibit through Sept. 2 of artifacts recovered from the Titanic. Several 100th anniversary events are scheduled Saturday at Union Station.
Friday, April 13, 9 p.m.
