Titanic tragedy remembered in Belfast 111 years after huge liner's sinking in Atlantic Ocean

Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Michelle Kelly, and Susie Millar from Belfast Titanic Society, laid wreaths in the Titanic Memorial Garden during the annual service of remembrance on the 111th anniversary of the tragedy.

When the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City, it caused the deaths of the majority of the roughly 2,200 people on board.

Estimates of the dead vary, but Belfast city’s Titanic memorial (beside City Hall) bears the names of 1,512 fatal victims of the disaster.

Last month, the man who famously discovered the wreck of RMS Titanic, Dr Robert Ballard, visited Titanic Belfast.

The visit marked Titanic Belfast’s 11th birthday and gave Dr Ballard the opportunity to view Ballard's Quest which explores his mission to locate the wreck of the famous ship 73 years after she sank.

Dr Ballard said he was "humbled" to see an exhibition on his work take pride of place in Titanic Belfast.

"It’s an honour to have a part of the experience named after me and it’s very humbling that the story of my work is being told as part of the authentic Titanic story here in Belfast,” he said.

Discovery of the wreck was made on September 1, 1985. It lies 3.8km (about 2.4 miles) underwater in the North Atlantic Ocean, with the closest land being the island of Newfoundland, Canada, hundreds of miles to the north-west.