CAPTAIN KILLED

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20099, 20 November 1939, Page 7

CAPTAIN KILLED

BOWS LIFTED STORIES OF SURVIVORS AGONISING SCENES WAIT AT QUAYSIDE SEARCH FOR FAMILIES (Reed. Nov. 20, 11 a.m.) LONDON, Nov. 19. Many of the passengers who survived the disaster to the Netherlands liner, Simon Bolivar, which was sunk by a German mine in the North Sea, said that the bows of the ship were lifted from the water. The captain was killed instantly. One passenger was thrown sft. into the air. There were agonising scenes at the quayside, where doctors, nurses and ambulances waited. Women clutched babies to their bosoms. A small boy cried: “Daddy! Where are you?” Most of the survivors, half clothed, had to jump into the sea and suffered from shock. Many were treated on the wharf and others were entrained for London, where they arrived at midnight and were transferred to buses and ambulances. A passenger said: "We liad not time to gather our clothes and belongings.” Terrific Explosion “We were off the coast when, without warning, a terrific explosion shook the ship,” said a steward. “The people ran to the lifeboats which were lowered on the starboard side. The boats could not be lowered on the port side because the ship canted. Then there was a second explosion, presumably caused by a mine linked by a chain with the first mine, and the ship capsized.”

Another survivor saT3 that the ship was 20 miles from port at the time of the explosion. A survivor saw others standing near him mowed down like ninepins. A most poignant story was told concerning a giant West Indian, whose wife and two children were drowned. He saved the life of a three-year-old white child, whom he intends to adopt. A dazed, shivering mother sat with her daughter, aged five years. Her husband and two other children were drowned. Thrilling Rescues Thrilling stories of rescue are told by other survivors who were picked up by trawlers which appeared from the mists. A Mr. Preece, a British merchant, a widower, slipped down a rope holding his three-year-old daughter. He found a box floating and put his daughter into it- He swam round for an hour. Both wore picked up. Representatives of the Dutch legation visiting an east coast hospital found that the survivors still bore traces of clinging fuel oil, which so blackened them that it was impossible to tell when they landed whether they were whites or negroes. A local tailor responding to an appeal brought garments to an hotel where- Other survivors were accommodated and was distributing them when an air raid warning sounded, but all went calmly to the shelters.