PIRATES TRAPPED

Gisborne Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 4899, 19 June 1918, Page 5

PIRATES TRAPPED

U-BOAT CREW’S . AWFUL FATE. ONLY TWO SURVIVORS. A SHOCKINC STORY Australian and N.Z. Cable- Association LONDON, June 17. * A grim story is told of the destruction of one of Germany’s most recent U-boats, which, was of the last to leave Zeebrugg'e before that port was bottled up. Uut of the crew of 40 only two survived after a terrible struggle with death for ninety minutes twenty fatliomfs below the surface, where the vessel foundered after striking a mine. A number of the crew committed suicide, believing that there .was no chance of leaving the submarine alive. ’Jhe commander was’one of the most export in the German submarine service. The explosion threw the delicate machinery out of gear. A portion of the vessel was plunged into darkness. The engineer succeeded in putting the submarine'in a horizontal position and prevented her turning turtle. The water poured in aft. An attempt to blow out the tanks was unsuccessful, an f ] the vessel would not rise to the surface. The inrush of water increased .and tile only chance of escaping was to force open the conning tower and forward hatches and to trust to the compressed air to drive each man, torpedolike, to the surface. An attempt to open one of the torpedo hatches was futile, the outside pressure being too great. The water mounted higher, creeping up the men’s legs. Tlija sea water mixed with the chemicals in the accumulators and created a poisonous gas and the crew faced suffoca.tion. The conditions became so bad that some began to lose their reason. One tried to shoot himself, hut missed. . Five jumped into the water at the bottom of the vessel.

After superhuman efforts the forward hatch' of the conning tower was forced open and those still alive escaped through the hatch. As they reached l the surface the compressed air in their lungs burst the lungsTwenty sank with bloodcurdling yells. A British trawler picked up two survivors.