LOSS OF THE APARIMA

SINKS IN A FEW MINUTES

NARRATIVE BY ■ CAPTAIN.

Further information regarding ■ the loss of the Union Company's steamer, Aparima,: which was destroyed by an explosion in the English Channel in No-: vember last, is given by Captain Gerald Dooly, 8.N.R., who was in command of the vessel at the time, and who is now in Auckland (states the Herald). The night, states Captain Dooly, was extremely dark, and the - vessel ■ was steaming along the English coast. That day a wireless warning had been ' received that two vessels had been sunk in the vicinity; and as they were in 20 fathoms of water only there was' danger of striking the submerged., wreckage. He had also been warned that an enemy submarine had been sighted that evening off the French coast, only 30 miles away. .Another danger to contend With was a minefield right ahead of 'his course.- . ' • .' ■ ; ,;! .

I The explosion occurred just after Cap- • tain Dooly had been reckoning whether. 1 Ihe had gone far enough, to pass the' sunken vessels, haul out, and clear the ■•' minefields' ahead. Whether the Aparima struck a mine or. was torpedoed, Captain Dooly says, will never be known. At . first he thought the Aparima had Btruck - the .submerged.wreckage, but in a minute he felt, her stern sinking and her bow rising. In.the.hope of running. her, ,•■ ashore, he ordered the helm to be put hard-a-port. He soon realised that ■ the ■ endeavour was. hopeless, as the : deck ' from, the stern ,to the boat-deck was under water, and he therefore ordered the crew to take to the boats. He had ' [.arranged with the wireless operators:"'; that, in the event of accident, they : were to send out 1' "S.O.S. Aparima," without consulting him, and he would then give them the ship's position. But they tad only time to send "S.O;§. Ap " when!a sea washed the wire-* less .room away, taking the second operator with it. He was never seen again. Captain Dooly threw all the confidential papers overboard, and by this,time was' ' . the only one on the sinking vessel. . Climbing down to the fore deckh* cut the painters of two boats which were fast to the steamer's gunwale. CADET'S MntACULOUS ESCAPE. Captain Dooly then jumped into the: sea "and swam away from the vessel, but had only gone a short distance when he saw the steamer's gig with 20 men on board. It was the smallest boat in the vessel, and, being greatly overloaded, was i nearly sinking. . Nevertheless th© crew ! hauled him aboard: After much trouble j a couple of oars were used, and in the I darkness they fortunately bumped into I brie of the lifeboats with only three men :; |on board. The survivors were divided 1 between the two boats. In the meantime the steamer, had;'sunk, and the,boats pulled about in the vicinity in the hope of picking up more survivors, but the only one found was a Lascar, with a broken leg, clinging to some wreckage. r One' of the cadets, E. Bevan, of Wei- ' lington, who with two others was in his . | quarters when th* after part was blown ■Vaway; had a miraculous escape. As the water rushed into the room he was forced >- up a ventilator 10ft high, and flung through the cowl on to a raft floating , near. He lay there-stunned for a while, and then remembered- that the tank fitted to the raft contained'signalling flare.. By . ■ means of the flare he attracted the atten- : tion of thost in tha boats and ht -was taken on board. ' ■ ■■ Other flares were lit by the crews in the boats, in the hope of attracting atten-, .! tion, but after a while they set sail and ' made for the shore. They had not gone far before they saw reflected against the ■ ' horizon a shape which they, made out tc be a submarine. The submarine,, however, made off- in the darkness. . ONLY ONE BODY DISCOVERED. Soon after a small' vessel was sighted and the boats made for her. She; proved ' to he a Norwegian'steamer, on which • the castaways were taken, and everything needed placed at {heir disposal. The Norwegian captain attended to the ' : Lascar, setting the broken limb as well as ha could. The steamer took them to -. St. Helens. .",;/'." -.>. The force of the explosion and the rapidity with which the steamer settled ; down may be gauged from the fact that of 24 cadets who were in their quarters below the main deck aft. only'; seven got out. .It is thought the majority-of the others' were killed ' by •.' the ' explosion Itself. Five of the'twelve cadets^ saved were on. watch'at the time...; Oidy one body was found, that ; of■.'■• 'the chief steward, Mr. J. Mackie, : which: was discovered at daylight. • : ; Captain. Dooly added that he found some satisfaction vi the; knowledge that an enemy submarine was sunk the nest day not far from where the 1 Aparima. went down. -; ; .-'■■ • '.