A PASSENGER STEAMER. STROYED BY FIRE. Twenty Lives Lost Terrible Scenes,

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 218, 3 September 1887, Page 7

A PASSENGER STEAMER. STROYED BY FIRE.

Twenty Lives Lost Terrible Scenes,

The particulars which have come to hand of the total destruction of the river steamer Champ Jain, at the mouth of the Great Treverse Bay, show that twenty persons perished by either fire or water, and seven others were missing when the despatch was sent- off. The in formation i» dated Charleroix, Michigan, and states that the Champlain was going from Chicago to Cheboygan. On the previous day the steamer was making her passage, and when the passengers were mostly in bed a .stream of flame was seen to shoot up from beneath the engines. The engineer was driven from his post and rushed on deck with his clothing ablaze. He ran to the hurricane deck and plunged into a tank of water. He endeavoured to return to the engine-room, but could not do so for the flames. In consequence, the engines of the steamer could not be stopped, and the boat was forced along at agi eat pace. The pas&engers were all awakened, but were in a terrible state. The {lames enveloped the vessel with extraordinary rapidity. Two boats and rafts got adrift. The passengers had no time allowed them to do anything for their ovn safety. All of them jumped into tho water, clinging as best they could to floating wreckage. The scenes Avere terrible. Many were burned to death. The vessel herself was burnt to the water's edge. Both passengers and crew alike lost their lives. Twenty persons lost their lives, many of them passengers and several of the crew. There were fifty-seven persons on board when the vessel took fire. The survivors were saved by fishing boats and a yawl. The poor people had been in the water for about an hour and a half when they were rescued. Seven persons wete missing in addition to the twenty who perished. The origin of the iire was unknown, but was supposed to be through an oil lamp exploding. _