SHIPPING DISASTER.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 778, 30 March 1910, Page 2

SHIPPING DISASTER.

FRENCH LINER SUNK llt:TH£ MEDITERRANEAN. ONLY ONE LIFE SAVED. 1 A terrible disaster occurred in Mediterranean on February li. The! ' French liner General CJianzy sank- -off j' tho ooast of Minorca, and all and passengers perished with-the'-ex-l ception of one mani- j " The solitary survivor is a.•"Customs' officer named Marcel Rodez, who -tsasl On hia way to .Algiers. It is known that the vessel .had--157'-' , persons .on board, and tho* total number of lives lost therefore amounts to. 156.,' There is no longer any-doubt that- tho, steamer was lost owing to the very) • rough weather, which drove- her out-ofl E her course upon one of the submerged!.'■ < j rocks between Puntallosa aid CSuda-l .., . deliv-during the night. The lighthouses. • ' 1 around, the rocky coast; of'lhe island' 1 ire not very numerous, . and' it jtfas, therefore, quite possible to miss seeing, ' them on a -verj> dark and- stormy-night;; • The course of the steamers is usually-' to-the east of Minorca.) but sometimeol " in very rough weather they mite for a. point slightly weist;of Cindadela».ancfc£<j . through the strait' betwtea tho two*M- .■ I lands of Majorca and' Minorca, where' j the seas - are mora sheltered. It may' f have be?n by trying' to ' take- this pnn dent course that the General ' Chancy mistook her bearings. . It was, perhaps, the suddenness of the.disaster.that prevented any efforts . On the part of the crew to save those on board. That some .persons, however, i•''! had time to put on life-belts ,is proved' ; j from the fact that oil February ' I 13, when boats first set out to the spot, t some , bodies With life-belts around them • 9 were found. The first corpses brought' s ashore.'were those of a man age j about 30, and of a woihan; who still clasped, in- her arms the body of a baby only ft • few months old. " ; This night of the disaster; was one "of I 1 ■ ; tempestuous, wind. Captain Barthelomy,.of Itihe. mail: steamer Oharlea'Roux, ■ 1 declared.in an. interview that- he-hkdl - never .before encountered" such .wfeather f : daring'"forty yMrs' experience of the j- - 1 Mediterranean. ■ The . Charles Eoux was j obliged to put into Barcelona, for shel-1' ' tor. . . v i Captain Caj-01, . of. the 'General . Chanzy,. was forty-eight years of ago, ■ ■ and had been twenty-five years at sea.' Among tte: passengers .was- a com-' 'P an y. of; music-hall .artists who : were crossing to.-Algiers to-fulfil ' ment there. -Two American; artistes, ' Derenda and. Green, with addresses in 1 Leicester-Street, London; and' Fourth" • Avenue, New York, are among those. who, perished. 'The names of Mr. and ■' Mrs.-Bruce; British subjects,- and'trav-.'-elling with Cook's tickets, also, appear on the j-evised list of passengers. : . The loss of the crew of the General' Chanzy "leaves'fourteen widow's and" 102 orphans in Marseilles, and a relief fund 1 ' ! is being started. SURVIVOR'S THRILLING STCRY. 1 Maroel Rodcz, the sole survivor of • ' the_ wreck ,of tho General -Chanzy, ib a 1 1 ' native of -Espinal, !» the. Vosges- Do- ' partmcnt, aid;:is twenty-three ; years" ■' of age. The following account ■of -hisexperiences was given to newspaper ■ ' correspondent.:— ' - ■ "We left. .-Marseilles'for •on i - February. 9.at one o'clock in thei after- 1 y :? 0 ? n: "We 'were -a -hundrißd' ; in all.-:. Soon after'leaving-port we encouhtered heavy' seas;'- due"to a strong north : wind. . Nevertheless, the vessd' ' kept on her.way. : ■■ ■ - ■ ' ' 'At about fivo o'clock on ;■ ■ of the i iloth Ilwas awakeiied'by a vitH • lent shock Which felt' as if the "vessel 1 ' had struck' a rock broadside on. Much " aiarmed. X called '"What is tha' matter? A sailor replied, 'Itjis iio- ; thing. I did not believe this, however, and with some thirty passengenL 1 men and women, I rushed on Tremendous waves were .'sweeping the ' vessel from; stem to themi carried away -the- bridge, and with a number of: passengers were-cling- y.... : -l.'kept.my;.footing .onOtha.i 1 deck,'.thanks to a ring 'attached-to'the' '* mast which I had. caught hold with I'-' both hands. . - "A few seconds later .I. a " smaller wave about to break over us,. : and letting myself-go with it I foimdi : '' myself carried out to sea. As I-am at • good swimmer, and as I Gaw land very. 1 near, I was practically-certain of'beihgl able to save-myself; I had swum a: : few strokes when a great wave flnngJ" me on to the ; shore. " . ' . ' •"As soon as I had recovered myi ■ selises I looked out towards the vessel.! ! She had disappeared. 1 should add that almost immediately after I had "fhmgt myself into the sea I heard a terrible, noise, which sounded as if the"boilers of the General Chanzy had exploded,' and! casks of large size flew over my head ' like cannon balls; My'landing had been- «' violent, but I was not injured, only <i ' little bruised. I found myself on a . - rock, from the top of which I was able to see that my position was very sen* ous. The tempest was a terrible one. ; '• and as the dawn broke I could see-alt"• ■ round me wreckage- from the ill-fated ' General Chanzy., ■ 'JLeaving my. rook, I succeeded in, finding a cave, which I entered and iiii ' which I romoined tho whole of- thftjday and tho following night, protect- 1 ing myself from the waves by means <jfl , boards arid plants washed up by fie* ' sea. I made my meals of raw potatoes,] 1 which were cast up by the wsaves onJ a tiny stretch of beach near tie en-; .V trance to my cave. At the break of day on the 11th, I saw that-the waves were decreasing in size, so I ventured! out of the cave, and climbing along, , . tilie rooks - which towered at least 15ft : feet above me, by a tremendous effort at last reached solid earth, when .I col- - lapsed, completely done np, with my feet" bleeding. : '"I espied a group of houses in th'»-; distance, and; ah hour's, walk brought ■. me to them. Seeing a'farmer'l made signs to liim that I was hiingry and' -' thirsty. Food wis'; speedily brought ts :! mo, and then I Was driven in a car- ' 1 ' - riage to a town. 'Here I alighted and .'- was conduoted to a magistrate, who '■ showed me - every attention ~ Siortly after my arrival the French Consular agent came; ih; He toad me Examined by three "dootors, who satisfied theonsolves that 1 had sustoiried no injury. I am deeply grateful, for all tfce 'oaro - and attention lavished on me both .by/ 1 the authorities and by private persons.-'