The iceberg collision

As Rowland holds the sleepwalking Myra, a shout from the crow's-nest warns of ice ahead. The captain springs to the engine-room telegraph and turns the lever, but it is too late. The Titan's bow lifts as it rides up onto a field of ice, rising to a hundred feet high. The ship crashes down on its side, and the engines and boilers break loose, puncturing the hull. The Titan begins to sink, and the passengers and crew are thrown into chaos. Rowland, still holding the child, is thrown from the bridge onto the iceberg. The ship sinks within minutes, with nearly all of its three thousand people lost. This is the central disaster of the novel.