CRAB DIET

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26617, 13 November 1947, Page 8

CRAB DIET

MAROONED ON ISLAND YUGOSLAV’S EXPERIENCES SHIP SHELLED BY RAIDER One of the six survivors, of the Yugoslav steamer Velebit, which was shelled in the Bay of Bengal on June 26. 1941, by a German raider, is now in Dunedin. He is Mr V. Sladovic, chief officer of the 7000-ton vessel Inchwells, which arrived here yester-' day. ;■ The Velibet ran aground on one ot; the Andaman Islands, and for five’' months the survivors lived in conditions of terrible hardship, existing on a diet of crabs—a diet which, Mr Sladovic remarked, would make any man ill. He recounted how, about 2 o’clock! on the morning of June 26, 1941, a' steamer was sighted, and after circling round the Velibet twice it started : shelling without giving any warning. •; The first shell carried away the wireless cabin, and the second smashed the steering gear. Closing in to within j 200 yards, the raider pumped shell after shell from six-inch guns into her 1 helpless victim, and when the crew went to their; lifeboat stations, the raider changed to shrapnel, mercilessly spraying the men, many of whom were killed. In all, 25 to 30 shells were fired at the Velibet. at least 20 of which hit the ship after she was completely disabled. Shipmates Roasted in Fire “Together with some of the men. I managed to make my way aft to the poop, which was the only part of the ship not on fire. We were all wounded by shrapnel and also badly burnt. The deck,” said Mr Sladovic. “ was red hot," and the bodies of seven of our shipmates lay slowly roasting before our eyes.” When the raider went away at dawn, he inspected the damage and found •; that the ship was holed in eight places; which were, however, above the water y line. There were only eight on board the ship still alive. The men tried to patch up some of the holes but it was useless as the fire was coming aft. Proceeding in a north-easterly direction the helpless hulk drifted till July 5 when land was sighted and the ship went aground after a few hours. “We builtvtwo small square _ boats” , continued Mr. Sladovic “ out of- wreckage and reached' a tiny island about two miles from • the ship.. but found nobody living there. We lived for five months, catching crabs for breakfast, dinper, and supper. The few cocount trees/ on the island were soon denuded of i fruit. ■ Episode with Dog “On July 25 we made an expedition to another island and caught a dog there. We had had no food for three days, and were so weak that./, when we tried to cut its throat/the dog ran away before the operation was completed/’ S The messboy, one of the survivors, ~ died on October 30 from blood poison- £ ing! October —“ the longest month in my life ’’—had been spent in trying to find help, but on November 13 the survivors saw some Indian fishermen, and were finally rescued. ' On their arrival at Port Blair, on the east coast 1 of the Andaman Islands, they were admitted to hospital. In December 1 they were taken to Calcutta where they were again admitted to hospital. During Mr Sladovic’s three months in hospital there, ' 15 pieces of shrapnel were removed from him. Mr Sladovic joined the Royal Indian Navy in 1943, gaining a commlssion. He was demobilised in 1946. . The Board of Trade recognised his Yugoslav master’s ticket, and he obtained a position in the shipping line in which he is now engaged. “I do not wish to go back to my own country just now,” said Mr Sladovic, adding that he had applied for English-citizenship.. , „ &