Titanic Survivors. How the Titanic Survivors Were Picked up by the Carpathia. Photograph taken by Mr J W Barker of two lifeboats containing passengers from the Titanic, as it approaches the Carpathia. Carpathia was sailing from New York City to Rijeka on the night of Sunday, 14 April 1912. The captain, Arthur Henry Rostron, was asleep in his cabin when wireless operator Harold Cottam burst in and told him of Titanic's distress signal. Captain Rostron immediately set course to the liner's last known position, over 60 miles away. At 4 o'clock in the morning Carpathia arrived at the scene after working her way through dangerous ice fields and was able to save 705 people. Titanic was built by Harland & Wolff in Belfast Ireland during 1910 - 1911 and sank on April 15th, 1912 after striking an iceberg off the coast of New Foundland during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York, USA, with the loss of 1,522 passengers and crew. .