LUXURY LINER AFLAME

Taranaki Daily News, 10 September 1934, Page 5

LUXURY LINER AFLAME

200 PERISH IN FIRE OR WATER

DISASTER OFF NEW JERSEY COAST

TRAGIC END TO PLEASURE CRUISE

By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright. Received 6.30 p.m. New York, September 8. 'TWO hundred of the passengers and crew of the Ward luxury liner Morro Castle were burned to death, suffocated or drowned when the ship was destroyed by fire eight miles off the New Jersey coast in the early hours of this morning. Some say a bolt of lightning struck the ship’s oil tanks, and others that the fire started in the library. The flames spread through the ship so quickly that many sleeping passengers were trapped in their cabins. Only half a dozen lifeboats, partly manned, could be launched. Many passengers and crew jumped into the sea or were roasted on the decks. The total number aboard was 503. Estimates of those saved varied between 250 and 350, a& . confusion prevented a definite check. In any event, it is one of the greatest tragedies in recent American marine history.

SHIPS RACE TO RESCUE SHOCKING SCENE AT DAWN RAPID SPREAD OF FLAMES A MANY JUMP INTO THE SEA Rec. 6.30 p.m. New York, Sept. 8. A wireless message to the coastguard headquarters at' Washington at 9.45 a.m. from the cutter Tampa reported that she was standing by the flaming Morro Castle and preparing to attempt the rescue of a number of passengers grouped on the forecastle deck. The Tampa in a later message stated that 200 persons of the total of 503 aboard the Morro Castle were accounted for as alive. It is reported that a bolt of lightning struck an oil tank in the Morro Castle, which is a liner of 11,520 tons and 518 feet in length, built in 1930. Fire broke out so quickly that the survivors stated that there was little time even to spread the alarm to the sleeping passengers. So far as survivors who arrived at Spring Lake could see only six lifeboats were able to leave the ship, most of them containing members of the crew. The catastrophe occurred shortly after 3 a.m. (Eastern standard time). A brief wireless SOS, “Morro Castle. on Fire 20 miles south of Scotland Light; fire near wireless room,” was all the word that came crackling through the night. Captain Robert Willmott, who was in command of the ship, suffered a heart attack on Friday night and was dying only a few hours before the tragedy, at the time of which the ship was under the command of the chief officer, Mr. W. F. Warms. Coastguard craft along the New Jersey coast put out immediately in the. rough sea for the scene, and liners in the vicinity turned about and raced to the place, which was marked by a ball of fire through thick weather. HURRIED TO HOSPITALS. The steamer Andrew Luckenbach was the first to reach the spot. She reported by wireless that she had picked up some survivors. Lifeboats landed at Spring and several of the occupants were hurried to hospitals. The Morro Castle was returning from an eight-day cruise to Havana. Among the passengers when she left New York on September 1 were 100 members of the Concordia Singing Society, New York. All but 60 of the passengers were tourists. More than 100 survivors, passengers and crew, landed at Seagirt shortly after W dawn, all in Morro Castle lifeboats. The ” lifeboats remained near the burning ship for nearly half an hour, but no persons were seen in the sea. A hurricane was whipping the Atlantic and north-east gale warnings have been posted along the coast. Where the Morro Castle caught fire the sea was not especially heavy, however, though the crew of the lifeboats found it heavy going pulling eight miles to the New Jersey shore. The lifeboats have capacity for 70 persons, including the crews, but the six known to have been launched were not filled to capacity. One left with only 12 persons, including the crew. Rain beat down in torrents as the wind gained force, and despite the poor visibility the ship ablaze could be seen plainly from the shore. It was believed she would sink. No-one could remain long aboard her and live. ' Whether Chief Officer Warms escaped was not known. Reports indicated that between 150 and 200 survivors landed, but there may have been some duplication in the count. One survivor said he believed most of the passengers and crew lost their lives. One sailor said all the midships was ablaze when the alarm was sounded and it was impossible to go through the aisles to arouse the passengers. Sailors ran round the decks smashing cabin windows to awaken the sleepers. Six boats were launched on his side, but he knew nothing of what had occurred on the other side. From the shore two rescue ships were seen standing by until the fog closed in.

CAPTAIN’S FUNERAL PYRE DEATH BEFORE OUTBREAK ’ stories of survivors THEORIES OF CAUSE VARY Rec. 6.30 p.m. New York, Sept. 8. Six members of the crew of the Morro Castle said the fire started in the library in the forepart of the ship; she was not struck by lightning. Sixty bodies were washed ashore ana the missing are estimated at 133, says a later message. A true compilation of the dead will probably not be known for hours, due to the widespread shore pointe of rescue. 1 The skipper of the rescue craft Diana said that after bringing in 12 bodies he counted three sharks in the water where survivors were struggling. A list of survivors compiled at the Ward Line offices showed that 333 were rescued and 225 were not accounted for, but New Jersey private homes may hold many who have not been reported. Other checks made at New York and New Jersey coast towns indicated that the deaths might run as low as 130. The National Guard head.quarters at Seagirt, New Jersey, however, said that 171 bodies were reported in various places. The cause of the death of Captain Robert R. Willmott, who was stricken on the bridge before the fire broke out, was acute indigestion. The body lay in quarters aft of the control room, his ship providing a funeral pyre. Officials of the Federal Government and the steamship line opened investigations. Many survivors agreed that the fire originated in the ship’s library. Some said lightning struck the liner. SUGGESTION OF SABOTAGE. Reports from Havana that it might have been sabotage by striking dock workers were quickly denied, both by Havana officials and officials of the line. Most of those who made the New Jersey shore in lifeboats were members of the crew. They said they repeatedly called for the passengers to brave the flames to the upper deck and that they were finally forced to lower the boats with what few passengers were aboard after the flames started burning through the davit ropes. Some survivors were picked up from the dark and churning waters.

Some passengers severely criticised the manner of the crew, stating that they “never turned a hand to help us.” Many tales of tragedy were told, of mothers tom from their children and wives and husbands separated and living up to the best traditions of the sea.

Among rescuers was the fishing schooner Paramount, which bobbed about close to the liner to rescue 72 persons. Aeroplanes spotted swimmers and bodies from overhead to direct the rescue ships. Governor A. Harry Moore, of New Jersey, who was in one of the planes, said: “I’ll never forget the face of one man peering at me from the sea as he struggled for life. I could see many of those in the water had their lifebelts improperly adjusted.” Many bodies floated ashore and several persons swam ashore with the aid of their lifebelt. The search continued on Saturday night while a northeaster pounded the shore and rain fell in sheets through the fog. The Morro Castle cost £960,000 to build. It is understood she was insured for £750,000, of which at least £600,000 was placed in London. Many brokers carrying insurance reinsured to-day against total loss, paying over 40 per cent, premium.

As darkness descended on the New Jersey coast to-night it seemed inevitable that at least 200, perhaps several score more, perished. A total of 186 bodies was lodged in temporary morgues along the coast resorts and an indefinite number of the 558 passengers and crew are still missing.