WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., July 21 (UPI) -- Survivors from the capsizing of the Andrea Doria off the Massachusetts coast in 1956, gathered recently in White Plains, N.Y., to commemorate their rescue.
The White Plains Journal reported that the incident, in which 2,000 were saved from the capsized ship, is known as the greatest rescue in maritime history.
The Andrea Doria was known as one of Italy's finest ocean liners. On the foggy evening of July 25, 1956, the ship collided with the Stockholm, which was traveling in the opposite direction.
Fifty-one people died in the collision.
"We survived for 50 years, and we should celebrate," said one survivor. "We were together on the ship, and we should be together now."
Plans for the commemoration shifted after July 8, when Andrea Doria researcher David A. Bright died after diving into the wreck. Bright was the 14th person to die following a dive to the shipwreck, which is said to be 250 feet below the surface.
The reunion celebrated Bright's research as well as the 1956 rescue.
