SANK IN MINUTE
GERMAN SHIP MINED NEARLY 70 LIVES LOST ONLY FIVE SURVIVORS MAN’S 10-HOUR SWIM (Reed. Oct. 23, 11 a.m.) STEGE (Denmark), Oct. 22. All but five members of the crew of 74 on the German mine patrol vessel Sste 701 were drowned when she was blown up after striking three mines between Flasterbo and Moen. Flames were seen to follow a flash and the wreckage flew sky-high. A Danish patrol vessel saw four ■survivors .clinging to a spar and pulled them aboard. One of them, Willie Gehring, said -hat a majority perished owing to the sudden plunge in the icy water after ;he intense heat below decks. The ship sank in a minute. The men struggled for hours but were drowned one by one as the heavy swell exhausted them. The explosion gave them no chance to grab lifebelts.
“Everyone jumped into the sea, taking a chance of survival,” he said. “A Danish seaplane arrived after we had been for six hours in the water. The pilot very bravely landed, despite the high waves, took us on and taxied to a fishing boat.” Fritz In;g, an engineer from the Este, swam to the shore, reaching Moen after 10 hours in the water. He crawled to an inn and collapsed and was taken to hospital.
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Bibliographic details
Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20075, 23 October 1939, Page 7
Word Count
216SANK IN MINUTE Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20075, 23 October 1939, Page 7
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