HOPE ABANDONED
THE CRUISER SYDNEY NO SURVIVORS FOUND PIRACY CHARGE UNLIKELY (Reed. 11.30 p.m.) MELBOURNE, Dec. 6 Hope of finding any survivors from the cruiser Sydney has been officially abandoned, declared the Minister for the Navy, Mr. Makin, to-day. "We have done everything humanly possible, to locate survivors and have now reached the end of our hope," he added. The survivors of the raider Kormoran who are being closely questioned say the Sydney had its seaplane poised for launching when the Kormoran's first salvo crashed into the cruiser. Naval experts are of the opinion that the aeroplane's petrol tank exploded, starting a conflagration amidships. Heavy seas were running at the time of the action, which occupied only 20 minutes. Naval authorities have come to the conclusion that a charge of piracy against the Kormoran is difficult to sustain for the reason that the raider only needed to break her own flag simultaneously with the first salvo in order to comply with international law.
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New Zealand Herald, Volume 78, Issue 24141, 6 December 1941, Page 10
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163HOPE ABANDONED New Zealand Herald, Volume 78, Issue 24141, 6 December 1941, Page 10
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