OPENING OF THE INQUEST.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLVI, Issue XLVI, 1 June 1914, Page 5

OPENING OF THE INQUEST.

CAPTAIN AND OFFICERS GIVE EVIDENCE. EVERY PRECAUTION TAKEN. QUEBEC, Hay 31.

The Coroner has opened an investigation at Remouskie.

Captain Kendall, who had recovered from the effects of his immersion, hut was still very depressed, was the chief witness. "He stated that he saw the Storstad two miles off hefore the fog obliterated her. He stopped his ship and whistled three short blasts. The Storstad replied with one long blast.

Some minutes later the Storstad loomed up in the fog a ship's length away. He megaphoned her to back water and rang for the liner to go "full speed ahead,'" hoping to avert a collision.

Afterwards he asked the Storstad to continue^ at full speed ahead, in the hope that she would fill -up the hole but the Storstad backed out. He failed to beach the Empress of Ireland because the engines became useless in three minutes. The vessel filled rapidly when the Storstad backed. He added that he saw the fogbank approaching in plenty of time to prepare and took every precaution hiamanly posr sible. The behaviour of the officers and crew was beyond praise.

Chief-Engineer Sampson gave evidence that he remained in the engineroom until the lights -went out. The steam was gone soon. When Tie reached the deck lifeboats broke loose and swept numbers under water, including himself, he being entangled in wreckage from which he narrowly escaped and scrambled on a boat. They could see the collier a mile and a half distant. Immediately before the collision the Empress went full speed astern, stopped, and then he got the order, "full speed ahead, 1' but he had only started the engine*, when the crash came.

There was no explosion of any kind. If the collier had kept closer to the Empress of Ireland* s side many lives would hay© been saved. If she had pushed against the hole the Empress of Ireland could have reached shore before sinking.