Titanic Finding Suggests Ship Sank More Quickly

The discovery of two large pieces of the Titanic’s hull on the ocean floor indicates that the fabled luxury liner sank faster than previously thought, researchers said in Falmouth.

The hull pieces were a crucial part of the ship’s structure and make up a bottom section of the vessel that was missing when the wreck was first located in 1985, the researchers said.

After the bottom section of the hull broke free, the bow and stern split, said Roger Long, a naval architect who analyzed the find. The stern, which was still buoyant and filled with survivors, probably plunged toward the ocean floor about five minutes later.