AN ISLAND TRAGEDY.

Otaki Mail, 27 February 1922, Page 4

AN ISLAND TRAGEDY.

THREE INDIANS SUFFOCATED. Auckland, February 18. Writing from Suva, on February 7th, the Herald's correspondent says: A sensation was caused last week at Navua when three dead Indians were discovered on board a flve-ton auxiliary cutter called the Rose, owned by Mungal Singh, of Serua. The Hose arrived at Navua on Friday morning irom Cerua. She disembarked some passengers, includmg Hatu Aseri, chief ol Serua. She lay anchored within 50 yards of Piliay brothers' store. On Friday night heavy ram fell. The local police noticed that the Rose showed no riding light on Saturday or Sunday night. The inspector was informed, and gave instructions that the captain be found and summoned. The constable could find no trace of him ashore, so he went off to the boat. Here he found everything silent and apparently deserted. The vessel had a hold, but no cabin. The tarpaulin lay over tne hatch, Plying about, he lifted one end of the tarpaulin and a section of the hatch cover, and peered below. To his borror a dead man lay on his back staring open-mouthed up at him. Hastily making for his boat, the policeman got ashore. The Sub-In-spector came off and stripped the hatch cover off. There lying on 'he floor of the hoid, which was 10ft by 12ft by 4ft 6in deep, lay Mungal Singh and two Indians ,all dead. The vessel was towed alongside the hospital landings Dr. Ogilvie arrived at H o'clock the next morning, and postmortem examinations were held, and then an inquiry. It is believed that to avoid the heavy rain the men a-it below, pulling the tarpaulins over the hatch as they dropped the cover, thus shutting off any chance of ventilation. The benzine engine was beside them in the hold, and its fumes had evidently overpowered them, and the exhausted air suffocated them. Such was the Magistrate's finding. There were no marks of violence on the bodies. The incident created considerable excitement.