The Victoria Disaster.

Manawatu Herald, 17 August 1893, Page 2

The Victoria Disaster.

An officer in authority on board the Victoria has published the following description of the results of - ; the collision in an English paper : Commander Jellicoe, to whom the ' charge of the boats had been given, worked with his men in splendid fashion, but the rapidly, increasing list made it almost impossible to get the boats into position for launching,' and the work was attended with, great danger to all concerned. In obediance to the order, all the crew that could reach the deck had assembled on the upper deck on the port side, and the place was inconveniently crowded with men, but

notwithstanding this, although the bluejackets looked anxious, they continued perfectly quiet, ready and eager to carry out orders. There were only two prisoners on the Victoria, and both these were brought on to the upper deck ; one of them, f however, was half dead, both of his ■ legs having been maugled in a shocking manner by the bow of the Camperdown as it crushed into the sick bay. The operations connected with the getting out of the boats had now to be abandoned, for the uhip listed twenty to twenty-five degreegi The sen, rushed in the main deck ports ■\Vithin tv?o minutes, and in less than ten minutes all wasover. The final catastrophe, although all instinctively felt that it was coming, actually occurred with frightful rapidity, the ship suddenly heeling over and overwhelming everybody. It was at this supreme moment that Admiral Tryon gave his last order, shouting at the top of his voice from the bridge, upon which he still stood, steadying himself by grasping the rail, ' Save yourselves, men.' No sooner was the order given than the bluejackets broke ranks and swarmed up the weather netting.?. Some of them shouted • She is going down,' aud there was a scramble to get hold of something. The most awful scene was witnessed on the upper side of the ship, on which the greater number of the men had gathered. Those in front weie pressed upon from behind and had no option but to jump from a spot immediately above the port propeller. To jump there appeared certain death, but scores threw themselves into the sea, only to be mangled and killed by the whirling screw.. The men behind shouted, ' • Stop the screw, for God's sake,* but without avail, as no orders could be communicated to the engine-room even had those below been in a position to carry them out. Both screws were still revolving when the vessel disappeared beneath the sea. Many of the men went down with the vessel and rose to the surface again. One of the ship's boats rose to the surface bottom upwards, with a score of men clinging to it, but for some reason it suddenly sank, carrying the men with it. I estimate that 400 men got clear away from the sinking battleship, but many were struck and either killed or badly injured by wreckage of various kinds, which, propelled by the escaping air from the ship, came to the surface with the force of cannon balls. The sea for 200 yards around was a seething rapid. Men were whirled around, half choked by the whirling waves or dashed upon wreckage and battered and bruised. But the terrible commotion of the sea only lasted a minute or two.