[imagesource: Agence France-Presse / Getty Images]

The sinking of the Titanic was brought once more to the world’s attention thanks to the 1997 James Cameron epic starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

We all know that Jack could have fitted on that door, by the way. Winslet’s character, Rose, was a teenager, and Winslet herself was just 21 when filming wrapped. Thus, she would have likely been safe from the so-called Leo’s Law had the roles been reversed.

Closer to home, and a full nine decades after the Titanic met its demise, we have the tragedy of the Joola.

On September 26, 2002, the government-owned Senegalese ferry capsized off the coast of The Gambia. More than 1 800 people died, and there were just 64 survivors, in a tragedy that’s come to be known as ‘Africa’s Titanic’.

BBC Africa takes a closer look:

It is the second-worst non-wartime maritime disaster in history, taking the lives of more than the infamous Titanic.

Twenty years on, the BBC investigates why this tragedy occurred and tells the harrowing, heart-warming stories of survivors and families, who continue to call for the wreckage to be raised from the sea bed.

The ferry was built to carry a maximum of 580 people but was more than three times over capacity when it set off on a 17-hour journey.

Nobody has yet been held accountable, the tragedy remains largely unknown outside of Senegal, and the bodies of many of the deceased remain buried at the bottom of the ocean.

The Joola: Africa’s Titanic has been released to draw attention to what occurred ahead of the tragedy’s 20th anniversary so that the families of those who lost their lives may one day get some answers.

[source:bbc]