ON FIRE IN MIDOCEAN.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1032, 23 January 1911, Page 5

ON FIRE IN MIDOCEAN.

LOSS OF THE PARISIANA. CREW MAKES FOR ST. PAUL ISLANDDEATHS FROM EXPOSURE. By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyricht. Sydney, January 21. Tho survivors of the ill-fated etenmer Parisians, who arrived hero yesterday on (he British Transport, state that the firo started on tho Parisians on December 11, and continued till December 14, when the vessel, which was in the vicinity of St. Paul Island, was abandoned. The crew landed on the island, and were taken off by tho steamer British' Transport oh January 11.

A Seething Mass of Flame. ■ The fire broko out between decks, v hero a quantity of resin, was stored. The bulkheads were cut away, and the fire attacked from different parts, but unsuccessfully. The vessel was soon an inferno, beams and stanchions being all aglow at white heat. Ironwork was bent and twisted into all shapes. Next day the coal was alight, and soon the 6tcanier was a seething mass of flame.' Violent explosions occurred at intervals during the night. Tho captain then decided to abandon the vessel, and made for St. Paul Island, which was calculated to be forty-one miles to tho eastward. Two boats were used, the captain taking charge of one and the chief officer of tho other. Tho crew took any .of their possessions they could carry, but owing to tho rough weather all surplus baggage was thrown overboard. Threo Lives Lost., Just as the boats left, a tremendous explosion occurred. Great rents were made in tho ship's side. Tho boats lost sight of oach other at daylight. The chief officer's was tho first to make tho island, on December 15. The captain's boat arrived on the following Saturday afternoon. A fireman named Late was smothered in the bunkers prior to the ship being abandoned. Before reaching the island two other deaths occurred. They were due to exposure. • The unfortunate. victims were Bannon, tho, fourth engineer, who was consumptive, and a man. named Heine, who was buried on the island. . The Castaways Sighted, The Parisiana's. crew climbed to the top of the crater island, and raised a flag upsido down. The British Transport sighted the flag, and the castaways, whoso food was almost exhausted, came off. in their own boats. The British Transport was bound for Melbourne, but tho. captain decided to call at Albany in order to relievo the anxiety regarding tho Parisiana. The shipwrecked people owe their rescue to the fact that tho British Transport, in light trim, was driven south by bad weather; otherwise she would not lave been in the .vicinity. of the island., „,The captain, i\nd ; officers. of .the Parisiana are reticent.,.,,,. ■ ... . The Parisiana had IOiOOO -tons of cargo for Australia and Now Zealand, valued at from £175,000 to ,£200,000. The estimated value of the vessel was <£56,000. A THRILLING STORY. NARRATIVE BY THE STEWARD. VESSEL BURNT EIGHT OUT. (Bee. January 23, 0.25 a.m.) 1 Perth, January 22. I MacAlister, steward of tho Parisiana,, gives a graphic description of tho loss of the vessel. The fire, ho states, was first discovered by the carpenter at six o'clock in the morning, when ho found a bunker- smouldering. Fruitless efforts, were made to smother it, and then all hands were started to shift tho coal, in the bunkers. . _ _. • The' r fireman,Tait .is;|s smothered through the .coal. giving way. Two , other hands wore overcome by 'the fiimes, but. were restored by artificial means. "Worked Like Demons." Holes wero then cut in the decks, and water poured through, but tho fire continued to spread. : The men worked like demons till five o'clock next morning, when tho flames burst out from the bunker hatch. "The ship meantime continued steaming towards Australia till six at night, when the captain decided to make for St. Paul Island. ■ Docks; Rod Hot, The docks at,, tliat time were red hot, and a heavy sea .was. Tunning. The vessel was shrouded in a pall of smoke. Suddenly, she gave a heavy list, and it was feared that sho would turn turtle. After drifting for a timo towards the island, with tho fire gaining rapidly, and the flames licking the sides of the bridge, the captain ordered the boats to be lowered. Owing to tho heat and heavy sea there was difficulty in boarding the boats. Stayed Till ths Last. The captain, the first and second mates, and the'first and second engineers stayed aboard till the last, and it was seven at night when they left the burning steamer. Tho boats were tied to the stern for a time, waiting the possibility of tho vessel burning out, but tho sea was so rough that they had to cast off. Soon after leaving the ship a great explosion was caused, ship's rockets going off. The middle of tho steamer appeared to be a mass of fire. The boats drifted about all night, with' tho burning vessel in view. Next morning they approached tho ship again, hut she. was still burning, and was a complete wreck. Tho boats then started for the island, which was thirty-five miles distant. The mate's boats reached it in two days, but the captain's boat, in which was Mac Alter, was knocking about in a heavy sea for six nights and five days. This party had a terriblo time, with only a single biscuit, and one drink of water daily. Several times the boat was almost swamped. Food Plentiful, After reaching the island tho men found plenty of fish, which they supplemented with penguin and seal flesh. There wero plenty of rabbits and a number of goats on the island, but they could not catch them. The crew managed to earry tho. ship's pets, two cats and a dog, with them to the island.