FEARFUL MARINE DISASTER.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1197, 8 February 1895, Page 37

FEARFUL MARINE DISASTER.

London, January 30. A steamer (the name of which is at present unknown) collided with and sank the North German Lloyds Company’s steamer Elbe in the North Sea, Of the Elbe’s passengers and crew 350 were drowned. The Elbe was bound from Bremen to New York. ' v ... 'i : She was struck amidships with terrific force at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, and sank almost immediately. The passengers, who were chiefly Germans, numbered 240, and the crew 150. Twenty survivors, including the pilot, reached Lowestoft in a fishing smack. The fearful catastrophe has caused great consternation in Germany. London, January 81. Three hundred and eighty persdns have been drowned by the loss of the Elbe. The collision took place 50 miles from Lowestoft, on the English coast. A heavy sea was running, and the morning was thick. THE COLLISION. The look-out saw the unknown steamer approach, and a rocket was sent up to warn her. She took no notice, but kept on her course, and the collision followed with an awful crash. An enormous hole was torn in the doomed ship abaft the engines. '

The engine-room filled in an instant, and the fires were put out. A TERRIBLE SCENE. The passengers rushed on deck, undressed women shrieking wildly, and clinging to the davits. ~ The officers were unable to control the panic-stricken people, but managed to launch two boats. It was only with difficulty that even this could be done, as the ropes were frozen and could not be unfastened. PASSENGERS FIGHTING WITH EACH OTHER. The men were terror-stricken, and without regard to any sort of discipline, stole one another’s lifebelts, and fought for places in the boats. London, January 31. It is reported that the collision in the North Sea by which the Elbe was sunk was caused by the steamer Craithie, of Aberdeen, which was not afterwards seen by those on board the Elbe, and rendered no assistance whatever. She has since returned to Rotterdam with her stem badly damaged. The Elbe sank in 20 minutes. The captain and chief officer were amongst those drowned. The captain remained on the bridge issuing orders to the last. One boat which was got into the water was swamped, and all the occupants drowned with the exception of one lady passenger, who was dragged into another boat.

The officers found it impossible to avert the panic.

The women and children were ordered to leave their protectors and go to the starboard side of the vessel, but before they were able to reach the boats the Elbe sank stem first. One boat, with 20 occupants, was picked up, and carried to Lowestoft. Those in this boat had a terrible experience, and for five hours were almost frozen, owing to the severe weather. No first-class passengers were saved, and only five second, the remainder being officers and crew. It is feared that a second boat has been swamped, and all on board drowned. London, February 1. The Craithie is a steamer of 475 tons.

The captain states he stood by two hours, but the survivors of the Elbe declare that he was a mile away, otherwise many would have been saved. With regard to the Elbe disaster, Captain Gordon, of the steamer Craithie, states that immediately after the collision he stopped and reversed the engines, and shortly afterwards he continued on his course, supposing that the Elbe was safe. He was led to believe this because she signalled that she did not require assistance. The repairs to the Craithie will occupy about five weeks. The Queen has wired to Germany stating that she is greatly distressed at the Elbe disaster, and enquiring whether there are hopes of more survivors being found. London, February 3. The Germans have arrested the officers and crew of the Craithie at Rotterdam. Rotterdam, February 3. The officers and crew of the steamer Craithie, in reply to a question of the Court, were unanimous in the declaration that they were unaware that the Elbe was sinking. London, February 4. Vevera, one of the survivors of the ill-

fated steamer Elbe, declares that many of the passengers were crushed like rats in the bows when the collision took place. The screaming of women and children, he says, was only equalled by the praying of others, but he also asserts that the blasphemy of a number of men on board was something fearful. London, February 4. American survivors from the Elbe accuse the officers and crew of that steamer of cowardice and brutality. The Elbe was built by the Fairfield Shipbuilding Company, Go van. She was a vessel of 5000 tons. Her horse-power was 5836 and her speed 16'57 knots an hour. She was one of the finest and most powerful of the steamers owned by the North German Lloyd Company. This Company, established in 1857, carries on a prosperous trade between Bremen, London and New York, and has its headquarters in Bremen, the second commercial city in Germany. From Bremen embark about 50 per cent, of all the emigrants sailing from Germany, principally for the United States, and it seems likely that a great many of those on the ill-fated Elbe were emigrants from “The Fatherland” bound for America.