Southampton commemorates Titanic anniversary

[April 10, 2012]  LONDON (AP) -- Exactly 100 years from the day when the ill-fated Titanic sailed from Southampton, the English port city is paying tribute with a series of events to mark the tragic anniversary.

Southampton was home to more than a third of the more than 1,500 people who perished when the ship hit an iceberg and sank on April 15, 1912.

On Tuesday, more than 650 descendants of those on board gathered for a ceremony at the same berth on the city's docks where the Titanic set sail on April 10, 1912.

A moment of silence was held before a recording of the Titanic's whistle sounded on the docks at noon -- the exact moment the RMS Titanic slipped her moorings -- before a boat built in the same era re-enacted the doomed liner's departure.

[Associated Press]

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