A Frightful Disaster

Feilding Star, Volume IX, Issue 86, 7 January 1888, Page 2

A Frightful Disaster

COLLISION IN THE ENGLISH CHANNEL. LOSS OP 140 LIVES. HEARTRENDING SCENES. London (via Adelaide), Not. 21. A terrible collision Between two steamers occurred in the English Channel on Saturday, November 19, by which nearly 140 lives were lost in the screw steamer W. A. Scholten, 4000 tons bur« den, belonging to the Netherlands American mail service. It' seems that the vessel left Rotterdam, to whicn port she belongs, on Friday morning, ]Bth, and was bound with passengers and general cargo for New York. She had on board 210 passengers and crew, all told. Of these, 78 were sated, the remainder having, it ' is supposed, all perished. After the vessel left Rotterdam all went well except that she encountered fojtgy weather, and was unable to make much progress. ■ The collision;occ.urred at half' past' lo. A steamer was seen riding at anchor with lights up and showing no side lights. The Scholten gradually approached the ether vessel, the officers giving her as they supposed a sufficiently wide berth to clear her .amply; : When,' howeyer, they got within a short distance of the vessel they Raw that she. was steaming towards them, and a. collision appeared imminent. Every precaution was taken to prevent this on board .the Seholten. The whistles were blown, and other signals were made to her, but -either it rwas too late or there was not a good, look-out, and the vessel came lit collision. The other steamer, the Rosa Marie, of Hartlepool, and which has since put into Dover, struck the Scbo ten on her port- bow, near' the foreangging, and made a large breach The second steamer r "drifted away, rendering no as« sistance to the Scholten, which'; sank within 15 or 20 minutes. The captain and first officer eank with the vessel. N.early all the passengers were below when the collision occurred, most of them taking part in an entertainment which was proceeding. - } Every one on board possessed themselves with a life- belt, but "many passengers did not properly adjust thettfin the panic which ensued.. The vessel settled- down by tnftbead'very quickly, and ultimately 'plunged head» foremost to the bottom with her stern high in the air. The screams of 1 the drowning all round the ship are described as terrible, and they attracted the Ebro, screw steamer, belonging to Sunderland, which picked up a great Dumber bt per? sons, and eventually landed the whole, of the saved at Dover. The water was so intensely cold that many of the viorime became paralysed, while others drifted helplessly beyond the reach of the rescuing steamer. Many of those rescued were so benumbed and exhausted that it was a long time before they could be resuscitated after being taken on board the Ebro, and the first mate and a child died on board that vessel. The rescued were in a most pitiable condition. They were scarcely half«clad. Many were' suffering from exhaustion, and were un« able to partake of refreshment when they arrived at the Dover National Sailors' Home. One. lady, who had lost her husband and two children, was m a semidehrious state. A nother lady, who was only married a few days before, also lost her husband. The captain and officers of the Rosa Marie assert that their ship was at anchor when the Sohotlen collided with them. This statement was bourne out by the evidence at the .inquest.