SHIPS COLLIDE

Taranaki Daily News, 22 December 1930, Page 9

SHIPS COLLIDE

fORTY DEAD IN KATTEGAT TRAGEDY IN FREEZING WATER CRICKETER DOUGLAS LOST TWO CAPTAINS BROTHERS OBERON QUICKLY FOUNDERS

By Telegraph—Pr«<» Association. Rec. 5$ p.m.. London, Dec. 20. * The Finnish steamers Oberon and Arcturus .collided in a .fQg.in the Kattegat, between Sweden and Denmark, last' evening. The Oberon sank in three minutes and 40 passengers and crew are missing, including J. W. H. T. Douglas, the cricketer,' and his father, who were returning from Sweden for Christmas after a timber business trip. ‘ The Oberon <sent but SOS calls and several steamers rushed to the rescue. Those , saved •'include one -Englishman; three English' women. and 32 of the crew; including the captain and officers. It is believed .there were no British aboard the Arcturus. . Both steamers belong to • the same line and were engaged in a weekly service between Hull and Finland. The captains of. both ships were named Hjelt ; and’ are • brothers.' ;• ’•' ' ■Some of the Oberon’s passengers took to the boats in their night attire; others were drifting in . the water in lifebelts. ' , The "captain of the Arcturus reports ." ; . that, he .■ believes -he. ■; saved ." all .those floating and supported by buoys and other objects. • < ■ The majority- of- the; passengers were trapped below in. the darkness when the Oberon listed- 80 degrees.- The Arcturus though badly damaged, stood t by’ .till . iioori to-day» I/. ■ The captain of the Danish salvage ship -Garni assisted in the’ rescue work. -I He says‘ tha£ when, the . fog cleared in the afternoon all that remained of the , Oberon was oil patches, two Christmas trees which were part of the. cargo, two bodies of /women." *" j ‘ Nielson; a debit hand survivor, said he, was aroused by a terrific. crash at ,6.30, p.m. ;He rushed on,deck, by whjch ‘ time, the. submerged. and the ae'a was pouring in through a tremendous breach in the starboard side." -The; ■ captaii;-".Ordered-but all the lifeboats,.which? it was impossible ,to launch owing to the vessel heeling over so rapidly.' (Screams, and , cries ware heard every- ■ Where?'as the'Oberon turned turtle.’ A boiler exploded and Glaring oil spread over-the sea in which many were strug*gling. — Nielson - and • three shipmates swam to the lifeboats, which were so damaged that they needed all the crews’ efforts to keep them afloat. The London newspapers universally pay tribute, to' Douglas as a great 'sportsman. ‘ f ‘, “The last. I saw of Johnny Douglas . was when he 'dashed out'of the smoke-' ■ room to tell his father to come ou deck as the. ship was obviously sinking fast,” says Erpest Martin, a. British'survivor. i “We i were in ■the smokeroom. when the crash occurred. J. T. Douglas had. run below, .apparently to. get a lifebelt. Then came a terrific lurch. T/struggled' out afld : ,wafe immediately thrown into the sea. 1 did not" see; Douglas again, or my wife, who’Was below,” > Martin w'as picked up by the Arcturus and arrived at Copenhagen with 37(survivors, maijy of whom were injured, and 1 five bodies. • Search for* survivors was. carried on all day, but the efforts of British, Danish, Swedish and Finnish vessels were finally? abondqned. • ' - Sixteen passengers and 2A of the crew are still missing. Twenty-six passenger s’” and' 63" crew "were /aboard. Seven of those missing are British and include a father, mother and little daughter. ' The-most-tragic figure' is the Oberon’s captain, Eric Hjelt, who has not only, lost hi» ship but his .wife. and. four-year-old daughter also. They were ac-. cbmpanying him to spend Christmas at Hull, Captain, Hjelt remained on the bridge till the last, when he picked up ■his daughter and with" his wife leaped . into the sea. His wife sank. Captain Hjelt swam with the daughter and reached ■ the Arcturus, but she" was frozen to death in his arms in the icy ■ water.' - ?-•■/.'/•;/.• -