New Titanic Discovery Proves It Was Doomed By Fire And Ice

Many are convinced that the Titanic was doomed by its collision with an iceberg. However, a recent discovery revealed that the luxury ship's demise was caused by a joint force of fire and ice -- a mystery solved by photographs showing burnt marks on the watercraft's hull.

Fox News reported that experts including journalist Senan Molony observed rare photos of the Titanic before it departed London's Belfast shipyard bound for New York. The team discovered black marks about 30 feet long on the ship's hull, which they figured was the result of a huge on-board coal fire that started 10 days before departure.

According to the experts, the burnt area was located near the iceberg's damage. This led them to conclude that the marks had contributed to the shipwreck on the night of April 14, 1912, killing a total of 1,503 people.

"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," Molony said in a documentary that aired on Britain's Channel 4 on Jan. 1.

In 2008, researcher Ray Boston concluded that Titanic was traveling too fast when it hit the sea ice. A stoker who survived the tragedy testified that the fire on the ship's bunker six was so huge that even a 12-man crew was not able to extinguish it. The owner hoped the fire could be quenched by fireboats in the New York harbor before it spreads further, thus the ship's increased speed when it headed towards the unforeseen iceberg.

"This isn't a simple story of colliding with an iceberg and sinking," Molony said as quoted by Independent. "It's a perfect storm of extraordinary factors coming together: fire, ice and criminal negligence."