ADRIFT ON RAFT

New Zealand Herald, Volume 82, Issue 25177, 14 April 1945, Page 8

ADRIFT ON RAFT

THEEE WEEKS ALONE NEW ZEALANDER'S STORY (Reed. 9.50 p.m.) SYDNEY, April 13 A man who gave his name as Laurence Johnson, aged 21, of Ngatai Street, Manaia, Taranaki, NewZealand, told an amazing story to the police and ambulance men when they saw him at a farm near Bombo, 70 miles from Sydney, last night. He said that he had been adrift at sea alone on a raft for more than three weeks since his ship sank in heavy seas off the coast of New Guinea. Late Inst night, Maxwell Alexander, a fanner of Bombo, heard a noii.se of Mimeone beating a stick against a tin. He went outside and saw .Johnson, who was naked»and could not then speak. Washed Into the Sea hater Johnson told the police that during a cyclone which swept northern waters three weeks ago he was sleeping in 11is cabin with three other men and heavy seas stove in the sides of the ship. Johnson's three cabin mates were killed, but he escaped from the cabin and was washed into the sea. Huge waves sucked him down, but when he rose to the surface he grasped a raft which was being swirled past. He clung to the raft during the gale and next morning saw no sign of the ship nor any other survivors. The raft was tossed in rough seas for two days before the wind abated, when it drifted south in a strong current over calm seas. Kinergency supplies o! food and water had been provided in containers built in the rait. Johnson said he drank water sparingly and had some until yesterday, but his food supply was exhausted early this week. Two days ago the raft came within sight of land, but Johnson said he was too far away to attract attention. No ships came near him. Soon after dark yesterday the lights of Bombo, a basalt mining town on the New South Wales coast, could be seen from the raft. Johnson said he feared the raft might drift past, so he dived into the sea, ultimately reaching the shore and wandering until he reached the farmhouse. In Serious Condition Johnson this morning is in a serious condition "in Kiama Hospital, about 70 miles from Sydney. He is delirious and his face and left leg are badly swollen, apparently by exposure to sun and weather. His amazing story still remains unconfirmed. Today lie could not recall whether Laurence Johnson was his correct name. He also -said he was a naval gunner, naming his ship, but it has been impossible yet to check his story. Johnson is dark and a fine physical type. He had a beard and is suntanned. Fie can recall very little of what happened on the raft beyond the fact that he was alone and living on ample emergency rations stowed on it. At first Johnson's story was doubted because his condition did not seem consistent with a man who had been weeks adrift. Doctors now state that it is evident that he has been through some terrible ordeal.