<P> A long and winding route had to be taken to reach topside; the steerage - class accommodation, located on C through G decks, was at the extreme ends of the decks, and so was the farthest away from the lifeboats . By contrast, the first - class accommodation was located on the upper decks and so was nearest . Proximity to the lifeboats thus became a key factor in determining who got into them . To add to the difficulty, many of the steerage passengers did not understand or speak English . It was perhaps no coincidence that English - speaking Irish immigrants were disproportionately represented among the steerage passengers who survived . Many of those who did survive owed their lives to third - class steward John Edward Hart, who organised three trips into the ship's interior to escort groups of third - class passengers up to the boat deck . Others made their way through open barriers or climbed emergency ladders . </P> <P> Some, perhaps overwhelmed by it all, made no attempt to escape and stayed in their cabins or congregated in prayer in the third - class dining room . Leading Fireman Charles Hendrickson saw crowds of third - class passengers below decks with their trunks and possessions, as if waiting for someone to direct them . Psychologist Wynn Craig Wade attributes this to "stoic passivity" produced by generations of being told what to do by social superiors . August Wennerström, one of the male steerage passengers to survive, commented later that many of his companions had made no effort to save themselves . He wrote: </P> <P> Hundreds were in a circle (in the third - class dining saloon) with a preacher in the middle, praying, crying, asking God and Mary to help them . They lay there and yelled, never lifting a hand to help themselves . They had lost their own will power and expected God to do all the work for them . </P> <P> By 01: 30, Titanic's downward angle in the water was increasing and the ship was now listing slightly more to port, but not more than 5 degrees . The deteriorating situation was reflected in the tone of the messages sent from the ship: "We are putting the women off in the boats" at 01: 25, "Engine room getting flooded" at 01: 35, and at 01: 45, "Engine room full up to boilers ." This was Titanic's last intelligible signal, sent as the ship's electrical system began to fail; subsequent messages were jumbled and broken . The two radio operators nonetheless continued sending out distress messages almost to the very end . </P>

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