Big Fire in Titanic First Before Iceberg Hit, NEW Evidence Suggests

The sinking of the Titanic, perhaps the largest ship ever built, has been one of the most historic occurrences of modern time. However, recent evidence suggests an enormous fire did much of the damage to the ship before it hit the gigantic iceberg.

It can be remembered that the colossal vessel measured more than 880 feet long and 100 feef tall, and it went down with the loss of more than 1,500 on April 15, 1912 during Titanic's maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.

However, according to Telegraph, fresh evidence suggests that behind the spot where the iceberg pierced the ship, there may have been a fire in the hull that was left unchecked for almost three weeks.

The claim was made by journalist and Titanic expert Senan Malony, who spent more than three decades researching the disaster. He used photographs taken by the Titanic's chief electrical engineer before it left Belfast shipyard. Senan identified black marks, measuring about 30 feef, along the front right-hand side of the ship's hull.

Malony said that it may be the exact area where the iceberg struck. This means that even before Titanic left the docks, its hull have been damaged and weak.

Experts confirmed that the fire damage may have been a result of hundreds of tonnes of coals, which caught fire because of "self-heating" in a three-storey-high fuel store behind boiler room six.

Twelve men battled to bring the resulting conflagration under control, but it was still raging due to the room's temperature which is between 500 and 1,000 degrees Celsius. Ship officers were then reportedly -- under strict instruction from J Bruce Ismay, president of the company that built the ship -- not to mention the event to any of the Titanic's 2,500 passengers.

This may have led to the majority of the passengers to be crammed below the deck. Unusually, the ship was reversed into its berth in Southampton to prevent passengers from seeing the marked side. This new evidence was revealed by Molony in a documentary entitled "Titanic: The New Evidence" that was broadcast just this New Year's Day.