NARROW ESCAPES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 145, 20 June 1940, Page 8

NARROW ESCAPES.

BLOWN PROM BUNK. PANTRYMAN STUNNED. RESCUED BY CABIN MATE. One of the few minor casualties on the Niagara was Mr. A. Carr, third class pantryman, who had a' narrow escape from going down with the ship. Together with four companions he was sleeping forward in the peak of the vessel when the explosion occurred. The bunks were almost smashed, and everyone was thrown to the floor. The cabin was filled with dense clouds of dust and plaster. "The next thing I remember was that I was staggering around the deck with a light overcoat and a lifebelt," said Mr. Carr to-day. "It was not until afterwards that I was •able to piece the story together. It seems that I was thrown against the wall and knocked unconscious. The other four men had rushed to see what the passengers were doing and did not notice what had become of me. I found out that one of my cabin mates. Mr. Mervyn Starr, came running back to the peak and found me lying on the floor. Had it not been for his aetiou I would perhaps have been locked away in the sinking part of the ship .when the bulkheads were closed." He said that all he had left was his singlet, the thin overcoat which he was wearing and a substantial lump on the back of his skull. Other men from that part of the ship said the force of the explosion was terrific. Tiles, baths and woodwork had been smashed and cabin trunks had been blown across the watertight doors, making it difficult to close them. The only other casualty on the ship, they said, was suffered by the nightwatchman, who sustained a broken ankle.