PASSENGERS RESCUED

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 301, 12 March 1928, Page 13

PASSENGERS RESCUED

COASTAL SHIP ASHORE SURF-BOAT CAPSIZES By Cable.—Press Association. — Copyright. BOSTON, Saturday. r pHE steamship Robert E. Lee, "*■ on her way from Boston to New York, with 150 passengers aboard, ran ashore on jagged rocks in Massachusetts Bay, in a raging surf. First attempts to rescue the passengers and crew were unsuccessful, but no immediate danger was apprehended. The stranded vessel was en route from Boston to New York at the time of the mishap. Attempts to reach her were nullified by the heavy seas running, the high wind and blinding snowstorm. The captain reported that there was no panic among the passengers. The engine-room was flooded and the vessel was shipping water rapidly. The wireless plant on the Robert E. Lee was kept working by means of an emergency battery. This was made necessary by the failure of the engines. The operator sent out only a few messages. The last one read: “Please hurry.” A coastguard cutter, the Tuscarora, went and stood-by. Later five other vessels joined her. This morning it was announced by the owners of the stranded vessel, the Eastern Steamship Company, that all the passengers had been removed from the vessel to the shore. Twenty-five women weer taken off by the crew of a surf boat. Another surf boat capsized and eight codstguardsmen were thrown into the water. One died from exposure. After the rescue of the passengers one man was still missing. The sea is still very rough, but the storm is abating somewhat. Those who are still on board are considered to be in no danger at present. There is now no water in the engine-room, which was formerly flooded. The reefs in the neighbourhood of the wreck make it dangerous for other boats to approach her. —A. and N.Z. The Robert K. Lee is a steel screw steamer with geared turbine engines. She was built in 1925, in Newport News, for the Eastern Steamship Line. She is fitted for oil fuel and has a registered tonnage of 5.154. She is long, 45ft. wide, and has a draught of about 28ft.