By about half-past nine the fleet, with the _Petropavlovsk_ at its head regained the roadstead and the protection of the fortress guns. Signalling to the torpedo flotilla to enter the harbor, Admiral Makaroff turned his own vessel towards the east and ordered the cruisers to follow him. The battleship _Pobieda_ was to the stern of the _Petropavlovsk_, on the starboard quarter. Close behind her again came the _Poltava_. The Commander-in-Chief was on the bridge of his ship with the Grand Duke Cyril, son of the Grand Duke Vladmir, and cousin of the Czar; Captain Yakovleff, and some other officers. Suddenly the horrified spectators on shore saw a great white column of foam rise on the right side of the _Petropavlovsk_. A dull report was heard, followed by another and more terrific explosion under the bridge. A huge thick cloud of greenish yellow smoke rose around the doomed vessel, a topmast, a funnel, a turret and the bridge were hurled into the air, and the huge monster heeled over on her starboard side. Her poop rose up, showing the propeller working in the air. Fire burst out in every part, and in a moment the ship was a mass of flame. A few seconds more and the whole fearful spectacle was torn from the eyes of the paralyzed onlookers, for with a tremendous lurch the vessel turned further on her side, the waters rushed in upon her in torrents, and with a roar and a hiss the mighty mass plunged beneath the foaming surface of the sea. The _Petropavlovsk_ had gone to her death carrying with her the gallant Admiral himself, his staff, and full six hundred officers and men. [Sidenote: Haphazard Fire] This terrible catastrophe threw the whole squadron into the utmost confusion. The other ships began a rapid haphazard fire in all directions to destroy the mines which they knew lurked in every direction, but their shots were purposeless; there was no mark at which to aim, and no effect was produced. And then, to carry further dismay to the already nerve-shaken fleet, a mine exploded on the starboard side of the _Pobieda_. She listed at once, but her fate was happier than that of the _Petropavlovsk_. No second explosion followed; the watertight bulkheads were shut to, and sorely wounded though she was she managed to keep afloat and to crawl into the harbor with the cruisers crowding behind her. [Sidenote: Rescue Work] The _Poltava_ in the meanwhile had remained upon the scene of the disaster, and her boats put out to save any of the crew of the flagship who could be found. In this work they were aided by the torpedo gunboat _Gaidamak_, and their combined efforts succeeded in rescuing the Grand Duke Cyril, seven officers, and seventy-three seamen. These were the only survivors. [Sidenote: The Character of the Explosion]