LINER FIRE

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 September 1934, Page 7

LINER FIRE

“EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF.” [BY CABLE —PRESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.] NEW YORK, September 11. The Federal Government’s investigation into the Morro Castle disaster was continued to-day. Eben Abbott, the chief engineer of the liner, said that he never visited the engineroom during the conflagration, and within half an hour of his being awakened, he left the burning vessel in a lifeboat, with thirty members of the crew and two passengers. •He said that he looked at the fire, and he decided that, it was a. case of every man for himself. A number of the passengers testified, and they all agreed * that there was a lack of organised effort to evacuate them from the vessel. In a newspaper interview, the Morro Castle assistant radio operator charged Acting-Captain Warms with deliberately having delayed the ordering of the “S.Q.S.”

Several of the passengers gave evidence that no Are alarm was sounded. The passengers either were awakened by smoke or by their room stewards. “DISCONTENT” ALLEGATIONS. (Recd. September 13, 9.30 a.m.) NEW YORK, September 12. George W. Rogers, chief radio operator of the Morro Castle, told the Inquiry Board, to-day, it was fully 30 minutes after he was, awakened, because of the fire, that he received the order to send S.O.S. Rogers further testified that sometime ago his first assistant. George Alaona and another operator “tried to instigate discontent on the ship.” Alaona is now held as a material witness.