SEA TRAGEDY

Waipukurau Press, Volume XXVIII, Issue 123, 19 May 1932, Page 3

SEA TRAGEDY

French Liner Burnt HEAVY DEATH ROLL PASSENGERS’ ACCOUNTS (Per Press Association) LONDON, May 18. According to the Rome correspondent of “The Times,” the death-roll in the fire on the French motor liner Georges Phillipar in the Gulf of Aden is 110. Other estimates of the missing vary from 114 to 200. According to the “Daily Mail” the British steamers Contractor and Mahsud have landed 277 survivors. Four French girls died of their injuries.

Death either in flames or in sharkinfested waters may be the fate of some of the passengers and crew still missing. It had been hoped when the actual number which the> Russian tanker Sovietskaia rescued was made known, the possible death-roll would be greatly reduced, but the Sovietskaia’s transference of 420 to the Andre Le Bon accounts for only 673.

It is emphasised that if the Georges Phillipar had a full complement she would be carrying over 1000. 1 The Messageries Maritimes Company does not know the exact number of passengers. The latest estimate is 506. The crew numbered 374.

The French police declare that warnings concerning sabotage have been investigated, and revealed nothing suspicious. It is believed the fire was accidental.

Survivors declare that at least 100 first-class passengers were trapped in state-rooms and burnt to death. It is still hoped that other ships, including the Otranto and Kaiser-i-Hind, have picked up some of the missing.

Captain Vicq, of the Georges Philipar, scouts the suggestion that some of the passengers were trapped in the cabins. He says that he was positively the last soul aboard.

Awful Experiences

Rescued passengers who have arrived at Aden relate awful experiences in one of the most extraordinary sea tragedies of recent times. Thqy state that the fire started at 2 o'clock in the morning in a firstclass cabin, a wire fusing. It is believed that 80 to 100, mostly firstclass passengers, were trapped, and some are dead. The fire spread rapidly. There were harrowing scenes when the boats were launched. Many who jumped into the sea were unable to reach them.

The fire in the empty cabin had such a firm hold before it was discovered that all the chemical extinguishers and hoses were inadequate. It is feared that the occupants of neighbouring cabins perished in the flames, which devastated a wide area, including the wireless room, before an SOS could be dispatched.

Confusion And Panic

The confusion and panic were indescribable when the passengers were aroused and told to make, their way forward in the smoke. Sparks from the flames resulted in the destruction of a number of lifeboats, and rendered it impossible for passengers to take their boat drill positions. Consequently, husbands were separated from wives, and children from parents, increasing the agonies and apprehension of all.

The Sovietskaia was prevented from approaching owing to the explosive nature of her cargo of naptha, but 420 passengers and crew were ferried in rafts, which were plentiful, or rescued from the sea, into which they jumped. The Contractor arrived three hours later, and found the survivors perilously grouped on the forequarter of the Georges Phillipar.

There were scenes of anguish on the Aden pier when the survivors on both the Contractor and the Mahusud searched for relatives. A mother was thus united to her two daughters almost delirious with joy. Others were disappointed, but are still hoping for their lost ones aboard the Andre Le Bon.

The rescued include a child with a baby in arms. Both have lost their parents.

M. Louis Alfred, Chief Justice of Indo-China, and his wife had remarkable escapes. They were trapped in a cabin and almost surrounded by flames, through which Alfred fought his way out, and lowered an overcoat to a porthole in the cabin, from which he pulled his wife to safety. Their daughter and son-in-

law are missing.

“The Times” Rome correspondent says that a message from the Mogadiscio states that the death roll was 110.

According to the “Daily Mail,” the Contractor and the Mahsud landed 277 survivors. Four French girls died of injuries. Other estimates of the missing vary from 104 to 200. Captain Staunton, of the Otranto, sent a wireless message offering to take the Sovietskaia’s survivors, but the Russians were unable to understand it. He searched for rafts and boats but saw none, so presumed that all had been rescued and proceeded to Colombo.