THE COLLISION BETWEEN THE STRATHCLYDE AND THE FRANCONIA.

Globe, Volume V, Issue 575, 22 April 1876, Page 3

THE COLLISION BETWEEN THE STRATHCLYDE AND THE FRANCONIA.

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A disastrous collision occurred about a mile off the Admiralty Pier, Dover, at 4 o’clock on the afternoon of the 17th February, between two large outward-bound steamers, one being the Franconia, a Hamburg liner, which was steaming a direct course down the Channel, and tlie other the Strathclyde, of Glasgow. The latter had landed a pilot in Dover Bay, and was sheering out again so as to make her course to the west, when the first mentioned vessel struck her on her port quarter with great force. The Strathclyde foundered at once, her boilers and decks blowing up as she went down. The Franconia at first made for the bay, and it could be seen that her fore part plates were seriously damaged, but before coming near enough to be hailed she turned to leeward. The tugs Palmerston and Victor and the Dover lifeboat went out after her, and at a quarter-past 9 in the evening the Palmerston tug returned, confirming the sad intelligence of the fate of the Strathclyde, which, it appears, sank, as near as can be ascertained, ten minutes after the collision, Five men of the crew of the ill-fated vessel leaped on board the German steamer, and at once efforts were made to launch the latter’s boats, but before they could get any off, the Strathclyde had disappeared. There were al together seventy souls on board, twentyfive of whom were saloon passengers, sixteen being ladies. The five who saved themselves by leaping on the Franconia were Mr Bevan, the chief mate ; Luke Short, the quartermaster, who was at the wheel j Charles James Cheacoe, pantry steward; George Mclntyre, donkey, enginemau ; and George Croker, seaman. The captain, Mr ). D, Eden, and some of the crew, are reported to have been landed at Deal. The Strathclyde, a screw steamer of 1251 tons register, was bound for Bombay with a mineral cargo in addition to the passengers, having sailed from Victoria Docks, London, on the morning of the 17th February, at 6 o’clock. In addition tc the foregoing, a more circumstantial narrative has been obtained from Charles James Ohescoe, the pantry Bteward, He says :—“I was below in the pantry reading a paper, when I heard great confusion on deck of people running about and crying out. I at once ran up, and in doing so felt the shock of the collision ; and on going up the stairs I could see the black hull of the German ship over ours when I got on deck. Most of the passengers and crew appeared to be there, and the passeu gers were all running about in great agony £nd fear—some stretching out their arms and crying for help, others tearing their i - d burying their heads in their hands in desnair 1 Baw all this at a B lan . ce » aud 1 i.*; .V. ebe only chance of life was to -Sow* too. that t j , I. /q jump for it. I lefl P. ed on u to i he T ®? r “ a “ ship, and, getting s> l> 0 « d ’. fl 1 'turned my attention to ° a „Vn launch on the vessel seemed to b. < ' 0 , 'the boats. The chief mate' f\ nt * 'bridge, and spoke to the cap. an » a . ‘also sang out to the crew, saying, "' , ds anyone here that understands . ’ 'come forward and help to get these launched.’ Then wc saw the other three u. c our crew who had climbed up the side Oj. %he ship, and we tried to launch the boats. .1 seized a hatchet, and cut away at the Topes, but everything was so stiff, and wc ■were strange to the ship, so that before we got a boat loose our ship was going down. I saw the handrail on her port side under water just as we were getting the first host free. We eventually did not launch any boats. After our vessel sank the German vessel steamed away to the Downs when we were put on board the tug and brought to Dover.” _ .

The seaman, George Croker, says—“ I thought that both of the vessels were going clown, and I first of all tried to launch our boat; but seeing no chance of life that way, I leaped, and had to climb up the side of the German steamer, which stood tremendously fiiighiout of the water.” The man M'lntyro speaks in very high praise of the chief mate, Sevan, who, u,fi soon as he boarded the Franconia, with great promptitude commenced to launch the ship s boats, tut whose efforts, unhappily, proved unsuccessful. In reply to a question as to whether any of the people were seen after the vessel sank, the men said that they die not see any one, and their impression was all . except themselves were sucked down with the vessel. When the German steamer left the scene of the wreck, a lugger from Deal -and a barque bound for London were near. «nd both craft lowered their boats, but a ■'"thick fog coming on, no more was seen o, these vessels. The five survivors at the Sailors' Home are being well cared for by the authorities. The Strathclyde now lies about a mile from the Admiralty pier, with a considerable portion of her masts above • the water. The arrival of the six survivors j at Deal is confirmed, and the Franconia is r now brought up near the Downs. She was . bound from Hamburg to New \ ork with t passengers. The total loss of life cannot be At yet ascertained.