TRAGEDY OF THE SEA

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 457, 19 May 1932, Page 1

TRAGEDY OF THE SEA

Woman Tells How Fire Broke Out in Cabin. ELECTRIC SWITCH FELL OFF. United Press Assn.—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. (Received May 19, 11.30 a.m.) LONDON, May 18. The dramatic story of how the alarm of fire was raised on the Georges Philippar, which was abandoned by its complement of 880 persons, was told by Mme Valentin. The fire started in her cabin. She had been on deck and was returning to her cabin at two o’clock in the morning, when her cabin lights went out. She rang for the steward, but the switch dropped off into her hand. The ends of the wires felt hot, so she rushed to call the officer of the watch. They returned to her cabin and heard crackling from the wires inside the wall. The cabin was soon filled with smoke and flames burst through the walls of the adjacent cabins. Some of the passengers must have been trapped by the flames, which spread with amazing rapidity. It is revealed that music and the gaietv of the dancing passengers prevented most of the passengers hearing the fire alarm, and the loss of valuable minutes added to the difficulties of escape. Gallant Stewardess. An epic story is told of a brave stewardess named Helbut, who vainly darted into burning cabins to find the parents of a badly burned girl of twelve, who afterwards was lowered •into a boat, but died en route to the Mahsud. Miss Helbut later succoured two burned men all the way to Aden and then herself collapsed from shock and exposure. 100 Persons Missing.

The Otranto and the Kaisar-i-Hind have wirelessed that they have no survivors from the Georges Philippar aboard. Reports reaching Paris indicate that approximately 100 passengers have not been accounted for, including Dr Sze, the Chinese delegate to the League of Nations. An Aden message says that the Georges Philippar is still burning. No precise figures of the number of people on board, or of those rescued, appear to be available. Messageries Maritimes does not know the exact number of passengers. It is estimated that the crew numbered 374 and the passengers 506, a total of 880 persons. Survivors are reported as rescued as follows:—Sovetskaia, 420; Contractor and Mahsud, 227: totalling 647. Captain Staunton, of the Orient liner Otranto, wirelessed to the Sovetskaia offering to take her 420 survivors, but the Russian was unable to understand. Eventually they were taken by the French liner Andre Lebon, which is proceeding at full speed to Djibouti. According to the “ Daily Mail,” the Contractor and the Mahsud landed 277 survivors at Aden, and that four French girls died of their injuries. Other estimates of missing vary from 114 to more than two hundred. The captain of the Otranto reported that he had searched the rafts and boats, but saw no one. He presumed that everyone had been rescued and had proceeded to Colombo. The French police declare that the warnings of sabotage were investigated, but revealed nothing suspicious. It is j believed that the cause of the fire was accidental.