Costa Concordia: The rules of evacuating a ship
"Women and children first!" It's been suggested women and children were not given priority for lifeboats when the Costa Concordia capsized. But are there rules governing who leaves a sinking ship first?It's a famous moment in the Titanic story. "Women and children first!" went the cry.It's too early to know exactly what happened in the final hours of the Costa Concordia. The captain has already had to deny allegations he left the ship before everyone had been evacuated.And it has been reported that some male passengers ignored informal injunctions to wait until women and children had made it into the lifeboats.How did the priority rule begin? This protocol started when HMS Birkenhead sank in 1852 "Women and children first" phrase coined in 1860 RMS Titanic disaster in 1912 popularised the rule Only 20% of men on board Titanic were saved It is not a part of international maritime lawEdwin Gurd, a retired police chief, told the Times. "We were keen for women and children to go first, and men if they had babies or families. A lot of men regardless of that were trying to save themselves."But is the traditional maxim of women and children going first really part of ...
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