SURVIVORS PICKED UP

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 53, Issue 133, 17 March 1933, Page 5

SURVIVORS PICKED UP

LOSS OF JAPANESE STEAMER. ANOTHER BOAT STILL MISSING. SEARCH TO BE CONTINUED. (United Press Association—Copyrights (Received This Day, 9.45 a.m.) SYDNEY, This Day. The survivors of the Japanese cargo steamer, Kinsen Maru, were rescued at midnight by the Hide Main, one of the search ships. A wireless message to that effect was. sent by the captain of the Hide Maru to the Deputy-Directory of Navigation for Queensland. It gave meagre information, adding only that the Kinsen Maru sank at one o'clock in the" morning on Tuesday, roughly 403 miles east of Mackay. A second wireless message read: "Second boat has not been sighted yet." . . This indicates that the . survivors have been given information concerning at least one other boat's crew. An earlier message said -. The agents of the Talleyrand have received a message from Captain Sorrensen, stating that in his opinion there is little hope of finding the missing Kinsen Maru. An official of the Yamashita Company stated: "It is very unlikely that the Kinsen Maru is still afloat, but we are still hopeful that the crew of 38 will be picked up in the ship's boats." The Japanese tramp'steamer Kinsen Maru (4717 tons) was caught in a cyclone and reported on Monday that she was sinking 500 miles east of Townsville, Queensland. She had 15 feet of water in her engineroom, and her last S.O.S. described her plight as very serious. Water reaching the dynamo prevented further messages from being sent. The Talleyrand, which went to help her, is a Norwegian ship.

WIDESPREAD SEARCH. SEVERAL SHIPS CO-OPERATING WELLINGTON, March 16. _' The Secretary-General of the Post Office, Mr B. McNamara, advises that the following message was broadcast bv the Tallevrand at 2 o clock tins morning: "The Talleyrand communicated with the Kinsen Maru for the last time on March 13. Nothing has been heard since. We reached our.position at 2 p.m. on March 14 and searched a sector with a length of W miles. The Triona searched near Ches.+erfield Reef and Bennett Island on Wednesday, and proceeding northward saw no sign of life or wreckage. The Welcomb will cruise the position on Tuesday morning and will make tor Bennett Island, Long Island and Avon Island. The Hide Maru will pass latitude 20dog. 30inin. south on Thursday afternoon. The Mantram will probablv pass the area on Thursday: The Talleyrand will continue; searching on Thursday in conjunction 1 with .these vessels. .'■•••