CRUSHED BY ICE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22149, 1 July 1935, Page 12

CRUSHED BY ICE

WHALING VESSELS LOST ORDEAL FOR NORWEGIANS The fir st news of the loss of two Norwegian whaiing vessels in the Antarctic readied Capetown recently by the British whaling factory ship Hektoria. The sunken whale catchers are the Kleni and the Splint, belonging to the 1700-ton factory ship Pioneer, the smallest whaling ship operating in the Antarcti::.

Several hun/lred miles from Kcrguelen the two small whale catchers left the Pioneer on their hunting expedition. But a fierce storm arose, with tremendous) sean running and thick snow falling. Jll orttar to escape it the Klein nnd the Splint entered a lane between the pack-ice. The crews, seeing the ice gradually closing up behind them, cutting oft I'heir retreat, made attempts to get out 'oy steaming their little vessels full npee.il against' the ice in an attempt to "crash through." Their efforts proved in vain, and they were locked in the ice.

The factory ship had hurried to their assistance, but could not approach owing to the ice barrier. The trapped men useil dynamite to try and blow a way through, but in vain. Finally, the sides of one of the vessels began to collapse, and the water poured in. She was hastily abandoned by her crew, and sank at ance. Soon afterwards the other whaler suffered the same fate, and tho two crews found themselves adrift on tho ice-pack. Their only hope of saving their lives wan to find their way across the ice back to the Pioneer. This they all succeeded in doing after many narrow escajnes from falling through the cracks in the ios.