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10 April 2012 Last updated at 13:44

In Pictures: Titanic Remembered

Commissioned by the White Star Line shipping company, Titanic was built to be one of three transatlantic 'Olympic class' liners. Its gigantic hull was fitted with several thousand steel plates, held together with over three million rivets. [IrishPictureLibrary/FatherBrowneSJCollection]

Construction of the ship began on 31 March 1909 at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. It took three years to complete as builders strived to make Titanic larger and more luxurious than any vessel ever before. The finished ship was a feat of Edwardian engineering, measuring 886ft (270m). [Getty]

On 10 April 1912, Titanic set off on its maiden voyage from Southampton, stopping by the French port of Cherbourg and then Queenstown (Cobh) in Ireland before embarking west across the north Atlantic towards New York. [IrishPictureLibrary/FatherBrowneSJCollection]

Titanic was impressive, boasting four towering funnels, triple propellers and 11 decks. More than 600 tonnes of coal a day were needed to propel the ship, with more than 150 stokers or 鈥榝iremen鈥� working below, day and night, to keep Titanic's 29 boilers steaming. [IrishPictureLibrary/FatherBrowneSJCollection]

Titanic carried 2,224 passengers and crew - young and old - from millionaires, to teachers and emigrants. First-class guests enjoyed luxury rooms and restaurants, while second-class quarters were compact. Third-class berths were out of sight near the bottom of the ship. [IrishPictureLibrary/FatherBrowneSJCollection]

At 23:40 on Sunday 14 April - as Titanic sailed on a clear, moonless night over a calm sea - the crow鈥檚 nest bell tolled three times and lookout Frederick Fleet cried: "Iceberg, right ahead". Seconds later the ship hit the iceberg, tearing its hull. Boats in the vicinity soon received SOS calls that Titanic was sinking. [Getty]

By midnight, water was flooding into third-class sections of the ship and Captain Smith ordered the lifeboats to be launched. At first, many passengers were reluctant to go out on deck. On such a quiet night it was hard to imagine how a liner like Titanic could go down before another boat came to its rescue. [Getty - Illustration]

With only 20 lifeboats on board, there was only space to save 1,178 people on Titanic. The captain ordered women and children to board first, but many boats were launched only half full. Some third-class passengers - left to find their own way to the decks - remained trapped inside the ship. [Library of Congress]

Titanic鈥檚 last lifeboat was lowered from the ship just after 02:00 in the morning - those left on board could see it was over. Captain Edward Smith released his staff from their duties with the words 鈥渆very man for himself鈥�. He returned to the bridge and prepared to go down with his ship. [Getty]

Illustrations of the disaster depict how Titanic鈥檚 stern began to lift high into the air as its bow was submerged by water. Sinking rapidly, its enormous propellers rose out of the sea - the massive strain broke Titanic in two. Hundreds of passengers clung on to the end before plunging into icy water. [Getty - Illustration]

Titanic sank in under three hours. Although crew sent out frantic radio signals and distress flares, the nearest ship that answered their calls was Carpathia - four hours away. Carpathia鈥檚 crew set off at full speed, but by the time it arrived to rescue survivors more than 1,500 people had perished. [Getty - Illustration]

Initial reports of Titanic鈥檚 fate were confused, and crowds of relatives in Southampton, Liverpool, Belfast and New York were forced to wait for news of their loved ones. It took days for lists of survivors to reach them. Less than a third of the third-class passengers were on the lists. [Getty]

Just over 700 people were rescued from Titanic. Inquiries into the disaster were launched in the UK and the United States, and charities were set up to provide aid for those survivors who had lost everything. Some emigrants had brought all they owned with them on the crossing. [Getty]

The story of Titanic and those who survived still captures people's imaginations 100 years on. For many, it signals the passing of the Edwardian era, ahead of WWI. For others, it is a stark warning about the limits of human technology. In 1985, Titanic's wreck was discovered 375 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. [Getty]

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In Pictures: Titanic Remembered

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