STEAMER SINKS

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22005, 1 February 1937, Page 10

STEAMER SINKS

COLLISION OFF COAST OF AUSTRALIA FIVE MEN BELIEVED DEAD (united press association—copy&ight.) (Received January 30, 11.50 a.m.) MELBOURNE, January 30. The Patrick Line steamer Caradale came into collision with the Union Line steamer Kakariki off the Gellibrand Pile Light near Williamstown early this morning. The Kakariki was sunk. Only about six feet of her funnel are now showing above water. Five members of the crew are missing. The Caradale, a small inter-State freighter, met the Kakariki a few hundred yards from the Gellibrand Light, but the officers of the lighthouse did not see the collision. A wireless message from the captain of the Caradale to the Director of Navigation in Melbourne told of the tragedy. The men missing from the Kakariki are: Charles Lynch, able seaman, of Sydney; Jack Rodgers, able seaman, of Melbourne; Harry Coscombe, able seaman, of Melbourne; Dan Linderman, assistant cook, address unknown; and Athol Martin, fireman, of Sydney. Sixteen other members of the crew of the Kakariki were picked up by the Caradale's lifeboats and they reached Melbourne at 2 a.m. to-day. "Terrific Crash" Able-Seaman J. Evans of the Kakariki, said, in an interview, that he heard warning blasts on the whistle, indicating that something was amiss. He and two others rushed on to the deck, and saw the Caradale only a few yards away. Then came a ter- J rific crash. His comrades, who had not heeded the warning whistle, were trapped in the crushed forecastle. The Kakariki's second engineer, Mr James Wilson, of Wanganui, scrambled through the inrush of water and shut off the steam throttle; thus he prevented a possible explosion. He and several others were swirled round in the water. All finally leapt overboard. Wilson and three others have been taken to hospital, mainly for observation. A diver to-day recovered the body of a man about 34, who has not yet been identified. There was no sign of the others. The body of Lindeman was washed up at Williamstown this afternoon. All the men on the Cardale are safe. The Caradale is holed in the bows above the waterline. A launch has been sent to search the neighbourhood and wireless messages have been sent to shipping advising masters of the position of the wreck. It is considered certain that the five men who are missing from the Kakariki are dead. Lynch and Coscombe were trapped in the forecastle, and were heard by their mates calling: "For God's sake, open the door." The forecastle was crushed like an eggshell, and the steel door was bent in such a fashion 1 that it was impossible to move it. i Sank Quickly j Linderman, Rodgers, and Martin were seen on the deck a few seconds after the impact, but they have not been found, and it is presumed that they went down with the ship. Other reports suggest that Rodgers was killed when the bows of the Caradale crashed through the decking of the Kakariki. The Kakariki sank within three minutes of the collision. Some of the men on the Kakariki were thrown into the hold, and in spite of being up to their in water, they were able to regain the deck. Three of the crew who were thrown into the water grabbed floating pieces of timber, which they held on to until they were picked up by the boats from the Caradale. Some of the Kakariki's crew were in pyjamas, and others were halfshaven. A diver who inspected the Caradale this morning found that the vessel was much more seriously damaged than was at first believed. The vessel was going down at the head, and her cargo had to be hurriedly moved towards the stern to bring her bows above the waterline. James Wilson, the second engineer, who comes from Wanganui, was taken to hospital with injuries to a leg. Three other seamen were also sent to hospital, mainly for observation. [The Kakariki was a vessel of 887 tons gross, being 190 ft in length, with a beam of 31ft 4in. She was built for the Tasrnanian trade, and was constructed on modern lines. She was launched at Selby, Yorkshire, early in April, 192£U