The night was clear and the sea calm when disaster struck. At 11:40 on April 14, 1912, the world's biggest and newest ocean liner, Titanic, hit an iceberg. In less than three hours the "unsinkable" ship slipped into the murky darkness of the North Atlantic. It was the worst disaster of its day. More than 1,500 people died; only 705 survived.
For years scientists wondered how the great ship sank, and why it went down so quickly. The answers lay hidden in deep mud, 12,000 feet down on the ocean floor. Now, through the use of modern technology, researchers have come up with some startling findings. They believe six small slits--not one huge gash--sank the 900-foot-long luxury liner. The slits are believed to measure no more than 12 square feet total.
Last August the Discovery Channel sent a research team to explore the remains of the Titanic. Using special sensors and computers, scientists collected data and got dramatic pictures. "We looked right through thick mud and saw the iceberg holes that have been hidden for 85 years," says Paul Matthias, a top shipwreck investigator. "It's helped solve one of the century's great puzzles."