4 minutes is a lot longer to save your life than nothing? And do you really think that's the answer, that was the calculation on the ship - well they only have 4 minutes until we hit anyway, so there's nothing they can do, not worth it?
I wasn't criticising anyone, I was 1) asking if that happened; 2) asking why it might not have.
I think the answer is much more likely that the loss of power disabled the horn (as others have suggested) than that the crew thought it wasn't worthwhile because there was insufficient time for anyone on the bridge to fare any better anyway!
So, it turns out they did call in an emergency and the police did shutdown the bridge. The police had no direct way of reaching the workers and weren't going to wander out there with an imminent impact. So, evidently, no there was not enough time.
'So,' I said that in my initial comment. The police may not have had a way to reach them, but the horn would have. There was a lot more time than none, who's to say if it would have helped. I think the correct answer is as given by others, that actually the loss of power would have disabled the horn too.
I wasn't criticising anyone, I was 1) asking if that happened; 2) asking why it might not have.
I think the answer is much more likely that the loss of power disabled the horn (as others have suggested) than that the crew thought it wasn't worthwhile because there was insufficient time for anyone on the bridge to fare any better anyway!