Patria disaster

The SS Patria was an passenger ship that sank in the Mediterranean Sea on 25 November 1940 from a bomb planted by the terrorist group Haganah. It was sailing from the port of Haifa. It was carrying about 1,800 Jewish refugees from Europe during World War II. The British government were deporting them from Palestine to Mauritius because they did not have visas. Zionist organisations opposed the deportation, and the paramilitary group Haganah planted a bomb in the ship to stop it from leaving Haifa.  It killed 260 people and injured 172. The rest of the passengers were rescued by British and Arab boats that rushed to save them.

The British allowed the survivors to remain in Palestine on humanitarian grounds. 221 passengers were buried in the Carmel Beach cemetery in Haifa.

 References 

 Other websites 
 The story of the SS Patria on Zionism Israel

Category:1940 events
Category:Disasters in the 1940s
Category:Haifa
Category:1940s in Israel
Category:Mandatory Palestine
Category:Maritime disasters
Category:Terrorist attacks