COLLISION IN THE BAY OF BENGAL.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 919, 11 October 1879, Page 2

COLLISION IN THE BAY OF BENGAL.

The Calcutta Englishmen gives the following account of the collision between the steamer Aya and the ship Brenhilda, a short time since, by which the former j vessel was sunk and 70 lives were lost: —We regret to have to report the total loss of the British India Steam Navigation Company's steamer Ava (Captain Dickenson), which left this port at half-past six o'clock Thursday morning and the Sandheads at about five o'clock on Friday afternoon. From what we : have been able to glean of the particulars of this Bad catastrophe, it appears that the Ava was struck amidships by the incoming ship Brenhilda, at a little after two a.m. on Saturday,, while in charge of the second officer. A large hole was made in her side by the collision, and she filled rapidly and went down in less than 20 minutes. Of about 150 souls on board some 50 were saved, including all the first-class passengers, except Mr. Simpson, a painter from Cachar, three of the second-class passengers, and all the officers of the ship, except the captain, doctor, and purser. Between 80 and 100 souls, including, as far as we can learn, the whole of the deck passengers and the greater part of the native crew, went down with the illfated ship. One boat was smashjd^H the collision, and one stove in b^^^| sea. Great promptitude was in lowering the other three, the J^^H which, the gig, contained the ladi^^^H children, Mrs Laurie and infan^^^H Miss Hart, with Captain Mart^^^H Mr Laurie, first-olass passengei^^^H ohief officer, the stewardess, a^^^H ayah, an orphan boy of three who had been sent to England in of the dootor, the. gunner, at^^^H laacar. Poor Captain Diokensoi^^^H is said to have displayed the g^^^| presence of mind, and behavec^^^H 1 admirably throughout, refused t^^^H the ship, and was last seen stanc^^^H the bridge. Mr. Simpson j^^^l over the 1 stern of the steamer, believed, must have been stri^^^H the screw, or sucked under, sank at once. The ship's hesitated to jump into the when told, and is believed to have^^^H down with the ship. One of th^^^| acts was to go below and bring i^^^f little boy above mentioned, andpt^^^H into the boat. The boat containi^^^H passengers got clear of the steame|^^^| great difficulty, owing to the per^^^H efforts of the Lascars to, haul her in which they would have succeed^^^H not the chief officers, behaved splen^^^B jumped over-board and cut the rop^^^H a hatchet. The Brenhilda (Ca^^H Skerr) hove-to after the accident she had drifted to some distance the Ava, and the first boat, conta^^H the passengers, was nearly two l^^H reaching her. During this time^^H boat in question was half full of w^^H partly owing to the heavy sea, partly owing to the plug being knoc^^fl out in the bailing. The other two bc^H remained near.the scene of the disai^H till daylight, and succeeded in rescu^H several persons from the water. r^H chief officer also returned with the &^H boat, manned by a crew from Brenhilda, but nothing was then to seen of the Ava or those who were board when she went down. -*fPhe~±va went down by the stern, after her deck had blown up with a loud report, and her masts had fallen, the foremast falling across the bridge. A few minutes after she was struck there ' were fourteen feet of water in the engine-room. The Brenhilda had her bows stove in by the collision, and her fore compartment filled with water. Fortunately, she was very light, being in ballast, or it is highly probable that she too would have foundered, when not a soul could have been saved. She arrived in port with the survivors from the wreck The night being beautifully clear at the time, the collision appears inexplicable. Every precaution was shown on board the Brenhilda to the passengers who, it is needless to say, saved nothing but the clothes they had on" at the time of the accident.