SOLE SURVIVOR

New Zealand Herald, Volume 79, Issue 24270, 11 May 1942, Page 5

SOLE SURVIVOR

TORPEDOED STEAMER DRIFTED FOR A FORTNIGHT (Reed. 7.35 p.m.) NEW YORK. May 9 A message from Norfolk, Virginia, states - that the only survivor of a Panamanian merchantman torpedoed off the Atlantic Coast has just told a harrowing story of how he drifted for a fortnight in a lifeboat with a delirious ship steward. He said the torpedo blew up the entire ship and killed most of the crew in their bunks. "I was swept overboard and managed to grip a drifting lifeboat, and pulled a steward named Dieltiens aboard, but it was impossible to get near the other 20 members of the crew, who were slowly drowning, while the submarine crew stood at attention, not even turning their heads. "After seven days of torture, hunger and thirst, I caught a tuna and tore the fish open by hand, but found the raw flesh uneatable. We kept continuous watch, living entirely on raw crabs and sealice. Eventually, Dieltiens became delirious and unconscious. An Army bomber on the 12th day spotted us and dropped chocolate. Later we were picked up by a plane. Dieltiens died a few hours before the rescue." RECOVERY IN CEYLON LONDON, May 9 A despatch from Colombo says that after the Japanese raids Ceylon is returning relatively to normal conditions. With the exception of Colombo and Trincomale vehicles once again travel without their lights blacked out, the names of the roads and railways have been replaced and the schools reopened. The population is more united than ever in its history, and the civil defence, in addition to the fighting services, is at the ready. LOYAL NORWEGIANS RUSSIAN PRISONERS ESCAPE (Reed. 5.35 p.m.) LONDON, May 9 The Norwegian telegraph agency says several hundred Norwegians have been arrested for aiding 63 Russian prisoners of war to escape from a train. The Germans threaten to impose a war tax on the frontier areas if persons aiding the Russians are not surrendered.