LOST OVERBOARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 3333, 30 January 1918, Page 38

LOST OVERBOARD.

SHIP'S APPRENTICE DROWNED. \ sad fatality occurred off Banks Peninsula at 1 p.m. on Saturday, 19th, when an apprentice named Kingslcy Knight, belonging to an oversea sailing ship, by some means fell overboard and was drowned. Tho lad belonged to Hamilton, where his parents reside. The boy was apprenticed to the ship at Wellington on August 21 last year. The master of the vessel states that he could not account for the fatality, as no one saw tho boy disappear overboard. Tn company with one of the other apprentices, young Knight was engaged on Saturday in cleaning out their quarters. His chum was inside the half-deck, and was washinsr out as Knight handed him tho buckets of water. The latter was using an ordinary ship's bucket, and it is presumed that while drawing up a, full p&il he by some means overbalanced and fell overboard. The man at the wheel was the first to see the lad, who was struggling in tho - sea astern of the ship. The captain was called, the helm put hard down, a lifebuoy thrown over the side, and a boat quickly manned and lowered. This- was all carried out in less than 10 minutes, and the boat's crew picked the lifebuoy up about two ship's lengths off the starboard beam, but the crew saw no sign of the unfortunate boy. The lad could not swim. The boat cruised around for some time, but Knight was never seen again. When tho captain rushed on deck he saw the boy astern of the ship, throwing hia arms about, but he did not cry out for help. The ship was making about seven knots under a strong south-west breeze, and a moderate sea was running. The accident cast quite a gloom over the entire ship's company. Tho vessel had been absent from New Zealand waters for several months, and this was the only incident which occurred to mar the pleasua'es of a long round voyage.