LINER POISON GAS GALLANTRY

Hokitika Guardian, 25 January 1930, Page 3

LINER POISON GAS GALLANTRY

■■ !'• three men dead. MANV LINES RISKED FOR OTHERS. LONDON, Dec. 4. A thrilling drama of heroism, in which three men lost their lives and iu others were gassed, was enacted at Queenstown yesterday during salvage operation* in the stranded White Star liner Celtic. ■Two men named Buike and Finlay, both of Queenstown, went down into a aokl to investigate a detect in a salvage pump. They were overcome by fumes and fell into the water. „• .ur Malcolm Carmichael, engineer in charge of the salvage operations, whose nome was in the Orkneys, would not allow anyone to attempt a rescue until lie had tried it himself. He fell a victim to his devotion to duty and his thought for the lives of others. He was gassed, fell into the water, and was drowned.

RESCUED BY BROTHER

Many workmen then went to the rescue. One named J. Wilmott, of Queenstown, pulled out Finlay, who yesterday was ip a critical condition and not expected to recover. 1

Wilmott was overcome himself afterwards and like the engineer, was, drowned.

Burke was lifted from the water alive 'by his brother, but died when taken bn deck. Six of the 16 men who had made rescue efforts and were gassed were laL-r detained in the local infirmary suffering from asphyxiation. When the salvage company’s ferryboat drew alongside the pier about a dozen workmken were lying about the deck. They appeared to be dazed and unable to walk.

GASPING FOR BREATH

Jaunting-cars and other vehicles were requisitioned to take the suffering men, who were gas'ping for breath, to the hospital. 6ome of the men had to be carried out of the launch and held in place in the cars. Thomas Foster, one of the men, said: 1 was working at No. 3 hold when I heard someuody running along the deck shouting, ‘/Men dead.” My comrades and i rushed along to the hold and, looking down, l .saw two men lying stretched out, apparently dead. As fast as the rescuers were overcome tuey were pulled up on deck by rope slings or in a bucket attacnea to the crane. Another , man said that , when the alarm was raised men rushed front alt parts of the ship and, wrapping scarves and handkerchiefs around their mouths and noses, descended the hold. Several of them were overcome immediaiejy. Others , managed to tie their comrades to slings and were then overcome themselves. They in tui*. were put in the slings by fresh volunceers.

Mr Forfar, of Messrs. A. O Hill, Ltd., Dover, and Mr Eric Nienstadt, of Messrs Peterson and Aibeok, of Copenhagen, who are jointly trying to doat the Celtic’s hull, stated that the accident was due to noxious fumes escaping from a broken pipe. This had been inserted in dirty witter which they were pumping out of a ' grain tank.

DOCTORS AND PRIESTS

The first news of the accident reached the shore via the destroyer Seawolf, lying at anchor in the harbour, which picked up a wireless message from a Cork Harbour Board pilot boat. The commander of the Seawolf communicated with the salvage company, which despatched‘doctors. Dotors qnd priests took their lives in their hands in boarding the liner. High seas crashing among the rocks cut off the approach from the landward side, and Dr Murphy, of Cly'one, and Father Keating, parish priest of Aghada, set out in a. small boat to reach the vessel from the other side.Tlieir tiny craft was tossed about line a cork, and many anxious moments passed before the were seen to reach the liner’s side and climb ,on board. Other doctors arrived later, including one from the Seawolf, wlp went in a pinnace. , All the injured and other persons were taken ashore eventually; but it was not possible yesterday to recover the bodies of Wilmott and Carmichael.