DEAD MEN IN BOAT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18019, 18 February 1922, Page 9

DEAD MEN IN BOAT.

t-ATF. OF THREE INDIANS.

SUFFOCATED IN HOLD.

TRAGEDY AT THE ISLANDS.

[from our own correspondent.]

SDVA, Feb. 7. A sensation was caused last week at Navua, when throe dead Indians were discovered on board a Hvo ton auxiliary cutter, called the Rose, owned by Mungal Singh, of Sema.

The Rose arrived at Navua on Friday morning from Soma. She disembarked somo passengers, including Ratu Aseri, chief of Serua. She lay anchored within 50-vds. of Pillay Bros', store. On Friday night heavy rain fell. The local police noticed that the Rose showed no riding light on Saturday or Sunday night. The Bubinspcctor wag informed and gave instructions that the captain be found and summonsed.

Tho constable could hud no traco of him ashore, so he went off to the boat. Here he found everything silent and apparently deserted. The vessel had a hold, but no cabin. The tarpaulin lay over the hatch. Prying about, he lifted ono end of the tarpaulin and a section of tho hatch cover and peeied below.

To his horror a dead man lay on his back, staring open-mouthed up at him. Hastily making for his boat the policeman got ashore. The subinspector came off and stripped the hatch cover off. There, lying on the floor of tho hold, which was 10ft. by 12ft. by 4ft 6in, deep, lay Mungal Singh and two Indians, all dead.

The vessel was tewed alongside the hospital landing. Dr. Ogilvie arrived at 8 o'clock the next morning, and postmortem examinations were held, and then an inquiry. It is believed that to avoid the heavy rain the men got below, pulling the tarpaulins over the hatch as they dropped the cover, thus shutting off any chance of ventilation. The benzine engine was beside them in the hold, and its fumes had evidently overpowered thero, and the eithausted air suffocated them.

Such was the magistrate's finding. There were no marks of violence on the bodies. The incident created considerable excitement.