STEAMER ON FIRE.
HEROISM OF SURVIVORS’ HARDSHIPS. My Telegraph.—Press As^n.—Copyright. Capetown Dec. 14. The survivors oi the Cigale have reached Mauritius. - A priest on the doomed vessel pronounced the Benediction. The women were marvellously heroic and knelt with rosaries in their hands. The raft was surrounded by sharks. A tin of sardines was the only food the survivors had for three days.
An earlier message said the cargo of 500 cases of motor spirit on the Cigale caught fire. A Chinese passenger was blown up into the rigging with his clothes ablaze and before help could reach him he was burned to death. A panic followed and there was a wild rush to the boats. Women died of fright and two full boats abandoned the ship, leaving the captain, officers, fainting women and passengers on the blazing vessel. After hours of torturing work the French sailors subdued the flames, but the ship began to sink. The boats then returned and a timber raft was constructed. The ship sank and 23 were drowned.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TDN19241216.2.41
Bibliographic details
Taranaki Daily News, 16 December 1924, Page 7
Word Count
172STEAMER ON FIRE. Taranaki Daily News, 16 December 1924, Page 7
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Taranaki Daily News. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.