On the Sea

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 25, 5 January 1916, Page 4

On the Sea

THE PERSIA TRAGEDY. SUBMARINE NOT SEErt. United Press Association. Cairo, January 3. The latest list of survivors does not include Mr Be Ronzy, of New Zealand. Doubt continues regarding the exact number aboard, but it is certain that two hundred are missing. Twelve out of eighty first-class passengers were saved. The Maharajah of Capurthala’s jewellery was lost. Apparently none of the survivors saw the submarine, but the second officer reports that he observed tlie ripple of the torpedo. The belief prevails that the pirate was an Austrian submarine. Hope has been abandoned of further

su rv Ivors. Lord John Montague and ten others have been picked up and landed at Malta. There were four Y.M.C.A. organisers aboard, bound for Egypt, and

one was drowned. All tlv> mails were lost. Washington, January 4. The Consul at Alexandria reports that the Persia carried a 4.7-in gun. SURVIVORS EXCITING EXPERIENCES, A FEARFUL FIVE MINUTES. (Received 9.40 a.m.) Alexandria, January 4.

Survivors from the Persia are mostly suffering from the shock and hardships. Many were bruised and bandaged and one woman was taken to the hotpital with a broken leg. The tragedy was so sudden that the survivors .are scarcely able to give a connected account of it. They dwell ou the rude change from the gay luncheon table where they sat in the jolliest of moods to the ship’s boats in less than five minutes, and the luxurious liner was swallowed by the waves. They had just begun lunch, when there was a terrific explosion, and the ship shook from stem to stern. She lurched heavily to port, and only those who quitted the tables instantly or happened to be on the decks had any hope of escape. Many seemed paralysed, and sat as though glued to , their seats. Their indecision was fatal, as the water poured into the saloons the next moment. Some of the passengers reached the sloping deck and slipped into ! the sea, while others were swept off by the waves. ;v v p, The survivors are loud in their praise ! of the promptitude and coolness of the crew. It was a brilliant feat to lower even four boats from the heavily-list-ed and swiftly-sinking ship. The crew worked smartly, but silently, and there was not the least sign of panic. A young lady states that she jumped up from the table the instant she heard the explosion and ran to her cabin for a lifebelt. She was twice thrown down by the rocking of the ship and gained the deck with the utmost difficulty. In trying to keep hexfooting she was thrown down repeatedly and severely shaken and bruised. She jumped overboard and was picked up after fifteen minutes. . Others who told similar stories said they promptly rushed on deck and dived into the Sea. Mothers rushed to their cabins to seek their children, but never returned. Duly two children were saved. The chief officer was sitting in his cabin on the bridge deck at the time, and he helped with the boats and went down with the ship, but he was picked up out of the water. He did not see the captain, and believes he was sucked down, though some of the passengers think they saw him swimming. Many passengers state there were ; s ix boats afloat. The chief officer doubts the accuracy of this, hut states that two may have broken loose. Other officers are convinced that anyhow there was no one in them. The survivors lost everything, and spent a most miserable thirty hours in the boats in the wet and cold, but there was ample water and provisions. Reuter’s interviewed Mr Grant, an American survivor, who said: “While I was at dinner an explosion filled the saloon with smoke, steam, and broken glass. I fastened the Captain’s belt on him and then slid into the sea. I was sucked down and was caught by a rope, but got clear and reached some wreckage. 1 was picked up by a boat at four o’clock, when I sa\v five row-boats searching for other survivors, some of whom had jumped overhoard. Four boats were tied together by the painters. At 6.30 my boat separated from the others. We rowed for * three hours and were rescued by a cruiser, which picked up the other boats at seven o’clock. The end of the Persia was most affecting, people 'screaming, and others saying Goodbye, while one boat-load sang hymns.”