11/05/2025
On April 23, 1912, the recovery efforts following the Titanic disaster reached a grim milestone when the CS Mackay-Bennett, a cable-laying ship, retrieved 128 victims from the icy waters of the Atlantic. Just days after the RMS Titanic sank on April 15, the Mackay-Bennett was one of the first ships to reach the disaster site, and its crew found themselves overwhelmed by the scale of the loss. With over 1,500 lives lost, the ship’s undertaker, John Snow, played a crucial role in cataloging and attempting to identify the bodies, though many would remain nameless for years.
The ship had only enough embalming supplies for 70 bodies, and additional supplies were sourced from the Sardinian, another ship involved in the operation. The sheer scale of the recovery and the emotional toll on the crew marked one of the most intense and somber moments in the aftermath of the Titanic tragedy. By the time the Mackay-Bennett returned to Halifax on April 30, the city was already processing the unimaginable loss, and the recovery efforts continued. The day of April 23 became a defining moment in the history of the Titanic disaster, a stark reminder of the human cost of the tragedy.
