Sixteen Die At Sea In Fierce Gale

Northern Advocate, 27 October 1949, Page 5

Sixteen Die At Sea In Fierce Gale

LONDON, Wed, (11.30 a.m.).—The worst October gale for years, with winds up to 100 miles an hour, is lashing the Channel and North Sea, causing havoc as it sweeps over the coastal areas of England and Scotland. A number of ships of all sizes are in distress. Some are aground, some have sunk and others are missing.

So far, 16 persons are reported to have been drowned; many others are missing, feared lost. ' The collier Arch Glen was blown ashore at Dover and then turned over on her side and disappeared under huge waves. The crew of the Swedish steamer Astri, which hit a wreck near Zeebrugge, had to abandon ship. French and British ships are on the way to help an Italian vessel, the Assunzione, which has signalled that it has lost its rudder off St Nazaire. Three sailors were drowned when a tug collided with a freighter near Marseilles. LIFEBOAT ORDEAL

Queenslander Drowned

SYDNEY, Thu. (12.30 p.m.) .—Floods at Carter’s Ridge, near Gympie, Queensland, claimed the life of Mrs Myra Allum, aged 46. when she attempted to swim to the aid of her son, aged 17, who was marooned by floodwaters. He had crossed a bridge to round up cattle, but the bridge was submerged by the rising stream. Mrs Allum tried to swim the stream with a rope tied about her waist. The rope was too short, and when it was released it dragged her under. Her son was rescued by stockmen. At Defiance, near Lome, Western Victoria, holidaymakers have been without food for three days because of landslides. Forty-five residents of nearby Wye River, who have been without fresh food for six days, have asked the RAAF to drop food and comforts on the township. Elsewhere flood levels are dropping, and in New South Wales the main .danger is considered past.

The Falmouth lifeboat got back to harbour tonight after having been out 14£ hours in what the crew called the worst time they had ever experienced. They reported that some of the crew of the Scottish steamer Yew Park, which was crippled in the storm, had been taken aboard the aircraft carrier Illustrious.

The Yew Park, which has lost steam and is drifting, is being overtaken by a naval tug, which hopes to take it in tow to Falmouth.

Hamburg shipping centre reports that the Swiss motor-ship Simplon has failed to reach a British port and her whereabouts are unknown. Three men were washed overboard from a fishing vessel off Brest, and another seaman was reported drowned off the Dutch steamer Alena, in the Channel. * Lifeboat stations have been alerted all round the coast of Britain, but, in some places, seas are too rough for boats to be launched. TOWN ENDANGERED

Cross-Channel and local services by* small ships have been cancelled until seas die down.

Householders have been evacuated from waterside districts in Scotland.

At Walkeburn, near Peebleshire, Scotland, part of the bank of the Tweed River has begun to crumble, endangering the whole town. Many parts of Britain have had 2in of rain within 24 hours and, in the Lakes’ district, low-lying main roads are flooded to a depth of one foot. Two railway lines on the/Scottish border are blocked, and the main east coast line from Edinburgh to London was dosed for four and a half hours.