Key that sank the Titanic up for grabs

A key that could have saved the British Olympic class passenger liner, Titanic, from its terrible end is up for auction.

London, August 29 : A key that could have saved the British Olympic class passenger liner, Titanic, from its terrible end is up for auction.

The sinking of the, Titanic on 14th April 1912 is one of the most tragic incidents in human history.

But a new development has shown that this catastrophe could have been averted if a Second Officer carrying a crucial key to the crow's nest locker housing binoculars wouldn't have left the vessel at the 11th hour.

In his hurry, Second Officer David Blair forgot to hand over the key to his replacement, and thus the lookouts were left without the use of binoculars.

Fred Fleet, a lookout who survived, told the official inquiry that if they had had binoculars they would have seen the iceberg sooner. When asked how much sooner, Fleet replied: "Enough to get out of the way."

Ninety-five years later, the key which could have saved more than 1,500 lives is up for auction - along with a postcard from Blair telling of his disappointment at not being on the maiden voyage.

"We think this key is one of the most important artefacts from the Titanic to have come to light. Blair was the second officer. He had the key, which we believe was for the binoculars' locker ... it is the key that had the potential to save the Titanic," the Daily Mail quoted Alan Aldridge, of auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Sons in Wiltshire, as saying.

Blair kept the Titanic key as a souvenir and eventually passed it on to his daughter Nancy. The key and a postcard Blair sent at the time are expected to fetch up to 70,000 pounds at the auction in Devizes on September 22.

A year after the Titanic tragedy, Blair was awarded a gallantry medal for saving life at sea. While on board the vessel, he jumped into the Atlantic to rescue a crewman who had fallen overboard.

ANI