The Mexico Disaster 1886. The Biggest Lifeboat Disaster in UK History. Lytham St Annes.

The Mexico lifeboat disaster—also known as the Southport and St Anne's lifeboats disaster—occurred on 9 December 1886 and remains the worst loss of crew in a single incident in the history of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). A total of 27 lifeboatmen lost their lives off the Lancashire coast of England while attempting to rescue the crew of the stranded German sailing vessel, the Mexico The Mexico was a Hamburg-registered iron barque bound for Ecuador from Liverpool. Caught in a violent winter gale and heavy snow squalls, the ship ran aground on the treacherous sandbanks of the Ribble Estuary. Fearing the ship would break apart, the captain fired distress rockets around 9:00 PM, triggering a response from three local lifeboat stations. Forty-four volunteer crew members put to sea in open, rowed lifeboats under atrocious conditions: The Lytham Lifeboat (Charles Biggs): Launching on its maiden rescue mission, this crew successfully reached the Mexico. They safely rescued all 12 crew members from the rigging and returned to shore. The Southport Lifeboat (Eliza Fernley): Unaware that the crew had already been saved, this boat arrived at the wreck and was immediately capsized by a massive wave. The vessel failed to right itself; 14 of its 16 crew members drowned, leaving only two survivors. The St Anne's Lifeboat (Laura Janet): This vessel was completely lost in the storm. The overturned boat washed ashore the next morning with all 13 crew members dead. The tragedy deeply shocked Victorian Britain, as well as leaving behind 16 widows and 50 fatherless children. It sparked massive waves of national sympathy and triggered major changes