SIGNAL OF DISTRESS.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 June 1925, Page 8

SIGNAL OF DISTRESS.

ROCKET SEEN AT SEA. TN-OIDE.VT YESTERDAY MORNING. STEAMER PROGRESS SEARCHES. KO TRACE OF VESSEL. The mystery surrounding the distress signals reported to have been seen m Cook. Straits on Monday night is increased by news which reached New Plymouth last night that a distress rocket was seen in the same locality early yesterday morning. The news was brought by the steamer Progress, which arrived at New Plymouth at 8.30 last night from Wellington. The captain of the Progress reports that at 12.10 a.m. yesterday, when the Progress was south of V* anganui, he aud the mate saw a rocket fired from the sea at a point north-east by east of the Progress. The rocket was seen distinctly to flash and fall, and there couxd be no doubt that it was a distress signal from some ship. The point from which the rocket was fired indicated that it was from the same ship which fired rockets near Mana and Kapiti Islands on Monday night. The position of the Progress at the time was latitude 40deg. 23% south and longitude 173dcg. 12% south. The Progress turned back to search, and it cruised around till seven o’clock. No further rockets were seen and when daylight came there was no sign of any craft or wreckage. The Progress then proceeded on her way to New Plymouth. Referring to the fact that all vessels trading to New Zealand ports have been accounted for the Dominion says: Speculation now turns upon the possibility of some strange deep-sea sailer having been in distress off the coast on Monday evening. That rockets were seen there is ample testimony by entirely different groups of witnesses. A few months ago a deep-sea sailer was in distress off the coast of New Zealand, and it was not until she managed to creep back to Sydney that her predicament was known in ibe Dominion.