Twice as many men 'survive real sea disasters than women and kids'

London, Apr 13 (ANI): The chivalrous rule of "women and children first" rarely happens and may only have taken place on the Titanic because the captain threatened to shoot men who got into the lifeboats, a new study has suggested.

A new analysis of 18 maritime disasters where 15,000 people died only 17.8 percent of the women survived versus 34.5 percent of the men.

Of the Titanic's passengers, 70 percent of the women were saved, but just 20 percent of the men.

The idea of saving "women and children first" has been described as "the unwritten law of the sea".

But a new analysis of maritime disasters suggests that women and children are often left to last - and that even on the Titanic, the "chivalry" was helped by the fact that the captain threatened to shoot men who got into the lifeboats before women.

Economists Mikael Elinder and Oscar Erixon of Uppsala University analyzed 18 of the world's most famous maritime disasters from 1852 to 2011.

"The Titanic disaster has generated immense public and scholarly interest, and as one of the most extensively covered events in history obtained an almost mythological status," the Daily Mail quoted the researchers as saying.

"The evacuation of the Titanic serves as the prime example of chivalry at sea. Men stood back, while women and children were given priority to board the lifeboats," they said.

The researchers found that men actually have a distinct survival advantage.

Elinder said on Thursday when it comes to sinking ships "it appears as if it is every man for himself." (ANI)