What happens when a ship’s boiler explodes

Wreck of steamboat Pulaski found; sank in 1838

“According to the testimony of wreck survivors documented in the 1840 book Steamboat Disasters and Railroad Accidents in the United States by Southworth Holland, disaster struck at 11:00 PM when the starboard boiler exploded. It blew up the promenade deck above it, the starboard side of the ship, the bulkhead between the boilers, the forward cabin and the bar room.

“The ship first listed on its relatively undamaged side, but it soon rolled onto the starboard side and water flooded into the holes. The women and children had been hustled to the promenade deck above the ladies’ cabin, and men joined them when the aft deck flooded. Soon the waters rose to the promenade deck and the ship broke in two. The stern rose briefly, then split into three, throwing everyone on the deck into the churning waters.”

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