PILOT'S NARROW ESCAPE

Evening Star, Issue 16993, 15 March 1919, Page 2

PILOT'S NARROW ESCAPE

ENGLISH CHANNEL INCIDENT. A Chiiiincl pilot recounts a remarkable escape which ho had from a flouting mine in tlits Englith Channel. " I was oft' Dungenoss," ho said. '' We had disembarked .from my vessel into a pilot cutter boat. It was dark at the time, but there was sufficient light to see a little. Knowing that the cutter's boat was alongside the ship somewhere, I wont over the"side and down the ship's ropeladder, hand over hand. As I neared the water 1 saw a dark object bobbing up and clown just below me. Naturally I took it for the waiting boat, and planted my boathook upon it. It felt solid enough, but as I pressed on the object it seemed to clear awa-v from me. I was still under the impression that it was the boat, and was just in tho act of letting go my hold of the rope ladder when my attention was suddenly arrested by the men in the boat, whom I was surprised to find _ a little farther away. Xhey wero shouting out: •Here we are, sir ; hold on a minute? I him if suspended for a few seconds until they pulled to me. When I got safely into the boat I asked the men what the dark object was-1 put my foot on. They replied that they had not seen anything, I ordered them to diop astern a bit. but very carefully. and to our utter amazement we saw by the aid of our light a largo live mine, drifting quietly down between our smal 1 boat and the "side of the ship, it? minister prongs showing out of the watw The-sight gave us all' the / creeps.' Had my boots and my l&st weight come Into conlact with one "of those- prongs it would have been ail up with me."