AN APPALLING DISASTER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12602, 17 June 1904, Page 5

AN APPALLING DISASTER.

(fieceirea June IC, 10.30 p.m.) . New York, June 10. An excursion \ steamer has been destroyed,by fire at New York and 500 people: lost their lives; One thousand children and 900 adults, chiefly women, connected with St. Mark's German Lutheran Church of New York, were proceeding on the three-decked steamer General locum up the East River to Long Island. The bands were playing and the flags were flying when a fire, originating in the kitchen, spread with frightful rapidity. Hell Gate Rocks being on both sides of the vessel prevented the steamer being immediately beached. The steamer was sent ahead at full speed until she could be beached north of Brothers' Island. It was impossible to lower the lifeboats. The first, rush of fire and smoke drove back those- on the forward deck. Many were crushed against the rail and pushed overboard.

[As, the panic increased many sprang overboard to avoid the flames.

Dozens of parents threw their children * overboard and followed themselves,, and all Were drowned in the swift waters of the Hell Gate channel.

Dozens of craft pluckily tried to rescue the passengers, and some of the vessels remained by the side of the .burning steamer until they were themselves afire.

When the vessel was beached the crowded hurricane deck collapsed, precipitating hundreds into the flames,- which were raging between decks.

When the vessel was stranded it was found that there Was a considerable stretch of open water between the steamer and the shore, and many perished within sight of safety.

Captain Venschalk remained aboard until [the vessel was beached and then he leaped into the sea with his clothes ablaze.

The chief engineer perished at his pest.

EXCURSION STEAMER BURNED. 800 LIVES LOST, HEROIC EFFORTS TO SAVE LIFE. .„■ . ■■,;', iii-,. : \ ■'■■■■' PATHETIC SCENES. • By Telegraph—Press Association.—

Every man able to swim leaped overboard laden with children, who' mostly were drowned in the terrific current. Others tied ohildreLi to chairs and threw them over/ ;, One man who had lost his wife and six children went mad. The pastor of St. Mark's was saved, but his wife and daughter were drowned. • Four hundred and forty-seven bodies have been recovered. The survivors allege that the lifebelts were rotten and out of reach of the children, and the fire hose was not available. A man from! the paddlewheel-box threw women and children into a tugboat ranging alongside. 1 The impact of the beaching caused the boilers to burst, and the upper decks fell, crushing hundreds. . Thousands on shore witnessed the tragedy and Were unable to help. The captain and the jpilofc survived.

HELL GATE. Hell Gate, or Hurl Gate, named by the Dutch settlers of New York Helle Gat, is a pass in the East River, between New York City and Long Island, formerly very dangerous to vessels, from its numerous rocks and rapid current. As early as 1851 attempts were made to blast away the .obstructions. The operations, which, in 1885, finally freed the navigation, were the occasion of the greatest blast the world has yet seen. The Island was about nine acres in extent, and for blowing up this huge mass, it was honeycombed under low-water mark with tunnels —24 galleries running,in one direction, intersected by 46 at right angles. These galleries were pierced in every direction with drill-holes, of which there were bored 12*561, with a depth of nine feet, and a diameter of three inches—in all, more than 20 miles of drill-holes. Into each of these was inserted first,a cartridge of rackarock—one ! of Sprengel's patent explosives, consisting of 79 parts chlorate of potash and 21 parts of dinitrobenzole; and second a cartridge* of dynamite, the two together filling the centre bore. In all there was used 240,3991b of rackarock, and 42,3311b of dynamite. Water was admitted to the mine,, and it was exploded on October 10, 1885. In the operation 80,166 cubic yards of rock' were tunnelled out, and 270,717 cubic yards were blasted. The resistance offered to the explosives equalled 500,000 tens of rock, and 200,000 tons of water.