LOSS OF THE OCEANA

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1392, 19 March 1912, Page 5

LOSS OF THE OCEANA

SEVENTEEN DROWNED.

PASSENGERS ESCAPE IN NIGHT ATTIREGREAT HOLE IN VESSEL'S SIDE, By Telegrnpli—Prcee Association-Copyright London, March 17. Further details of the collision between Hid Peninsular niiil Oriental Company's liner. Occana (OHIO tons), ami tho German b:ir<|tio I'isagita (2852 tons) i\ro now to liiuul. The Occiinii eank six miles off Knstbourm , . II is now believed thnt seventeen persons have been drowned. Tlio Ocean* carried a crew of 280 and forty passengers. Tlio remainder of tho passengers intended to join tho steamer at Marseilles. There was a terrific crash when the vessels collided. A holo twenty feet wido was made in tho Oceaua, aud thero was a great inrush of water. The. discipline of tho officers and (he European section of tlio crew was exemplary, .but .111 p Inscnrs huddled together, alternately wailing and screaming, and terrifying the otherwise courageous womenfolk, who. wero awaiting their turn lo get into Ilio boats as patiently as tho males. Lifebelts., hnd been • distributed, and there was ample boat accommodation The swamping of the first boat is attributed to an accident to a block rope. Miss Maefarlane, a clergyman's daughter, was the only occupant of that boat who was rescued! She states that her father, mother, and some.ladies wero drowned.

Thirty-two of the passengers arrived in London iii their night-clothes. Somo were wrapped up in blankets and towels, but all Were bareheaded.

The Vhiji's" enrpeuter was lying in his berth at the moment of tho collision. His leg was gmasjiod,. A,, passenger, had an arm fractured.

The captain and the remainder of tho crow quitted tho 'Oeeana only when she was settling down. Within twenty minutes she. heeled over, her stern rising. Dense s'mo'ke n'unoiiiiced an explosion. Tho vessel lies on an even keel. The" Pisagua's" damages are worse than was thought. She arrived ot Dover in a sinking condition. The .officers., of the Pisag.ua pay, a tribute J» _the. /officers of the Oceana'. for their coolness, adding: "The captain be-haved-with the-greatest presence, of mind, like all British captains." NEEDLESS LOSS OF'LIFE. PILOT'S VIEW. (R«c.' March 18, J0.15 p.m.) London, March 18. Exclusive of the i' 1,000,000 in bullion the Oceana's cargo is valued at over ■£100,000. The vessel floated for , seven hours after the collision. The pilot declares that the lojs of life was unnecessary. Xo one, he says, should have died had the boats been lowered immediately, but no such order was given from the bridge. The Pisagua's bow wa« driven in but a watertight bulkhead kept-her afloat.