APPALLING CARELESSNESS. London, February 8.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 354, 27 March 1889, Page 3

APPALLING CARELESSNESS. London, February 8.

You will have heard by • cable of the foundering, pf the wheat-laden- ship Killochan in' mid-channel on Monday night, after b,eing run down in the most deliberate manner by the Steam collier Nereid. The accident was viewed by the master of the tug Red Rose, which fortunatety happened to be cruising near, or not a soul would have lived to tell the tale. As it is, poor Captain Manson, of the Killochan, and twenty-two others lost their lives in tha catastrophe. The list of missing from the sailing ship .is officially given as follows :—: — William Hanson, Captain. John McLeod, cook. James Reid, carpenter. William Anderson, boatswain. Peter Pablo, able seaman. John Roberts, able seaman. Richard Young, able seaman. Antom'o Silva, able seaman. J6hn J\lcCua'ig\ tihle seaman. James Thomas, able seaman. .William Barrett, able seaman. "Oscarson, able seaman. Harold Bell, ordinary seaman. JPeter McKenna, apprentice. Robert Finnigan apprentice. Harry Newel, cabin boy. John Stevens, who was picked up alive, Ued afterwards from exhaustion. The lost from the Nei'eid were : — ' William Freeman, first mate. James Steadman, steward, Charles Uru'ob, carpenter. (George Newkes, boatswain, li. Sinclair, able seaman. William Smith, fireman.

DETAILS OF THE DISASTER. The Nereid, owned by Kir by and Co., Newcastle, was 1,500 tons. She Jeft Newcastle on Saturday morning foi>Sb. Nazaire, with a cargo of coals. The Killochan, iullrigged, of J.,800 tons burden, belonged to Kerr and Co., of Greenock. She left Lybtelton, Ne\vZealand,October2l,and was making for London with a cargo of wheat. Friday night &he met heavy -weather as sho approached the English coast. When pa&sing Beachy Head a sleam-tug, Red Rose, spoke her, and then followed slowly on her port quarter up the Channel. This was about 6 o'clock. The night was vevy stormy. A strong north-west wind blew with occasional falls of sleety snow. It was extremely cold, but on the whole tho night wa3 a olear one, and vessels could be seen for a considerable distance.

WITNESSING THE COLLISION. Ju.st before eighb o'clock the vessels got dangerously near one another, and in another moment these on , board the tug I saw them come into collision. The Red Rose immediately put on all steam and made for the scene. Both vessels were seen to be rapidly settling down. Despite the gale, the cries of. the unfortunates struggling in the water, could be plainly heard. Within a quarter of an hour the Red Ro&e was in the midst of the wreckage.* She had only one small boat on board, and tho few life-saving .appliances usually kept lon such a vessel. The boat was launched, and life-buoys thrown overboard. The : work of rescue was extremely dangerous, but it was carried out courageously.

SNATCHED FROM THE 'WAVES. ' The saved were :—: — , Froni the Killochan :— John. S. Day, first mate; Charles H. Smith, second . mate ; Mclver, sa.il-maker ; Carl Anderson, able seaman ;" — Nevin, able seaman ; Frank Paris, able seaman ; , Harry Brown, ordinary seaman ; John Caddy, ordinary seaman. ' - * From the Nereid : — John F. Bell, captain ; "Robert Daniels, second mate; Robert Blance, first engineer ; James Wilson, second engineer'; James Wat&on. fireman-; , James Teesdale; ii reman ; Monat, mces-room steward ; Knox, donkeyman j-Frazer Charle-

son, able seaman ; John Christie, able seaman j 0. Tollesen-, able seaman. The Nereid, it seems, carried a crew of 17,' and the Killochan 25. Tlie lucky ones were landed ab Dover. Had it nob been for the bravery of the. ]£Ed Rose's captain and crew, it is certain that nob a soul onboard the lost vessels would have survived, for the waves were so stormy and the nitrhb so bitterly cold that the strongest man could not have lived in the water more t]i an half an hour. •

WHO WAS TO BLAME FOR IT ? As usual, the sbories as to the cause of the catastrophe conflict, or ac least vary a great deal. Viewed at first from the tug, the Nereid was approaching down the Channel, and could be seen 'some distance oft on the dtarbbard bow. So the ship* held on till they camo closer and closer, and fiually together, i The mates of the sailing ship declare that they held steadily^ to their course, which the steamer's officers deny. The rescued men appear to have little knowledge as to where the fault lies. John Day, the, first mate ot the KiUochan, says :—": — " When Dungene^s was in sight, ■and while bearing north-east, we were run into by the steamer Nereid, which struck us abaft the fore rigging, cutting into us amidships. . Our ship sank tvyo minutes after the collision, and a few minutes later the steamer went down. All the crew who had not gone down were hanging to pieces of the wreck. When taken on the tugs w© had every attention paid us. The ship was about two miles off the Ness when she went down." John Christy, of the steamer Nereid, says :— " I do not know at all how the collision occurred. The night was bright and clear at the time. After rowing about in her boat for nearly an hour we were brought to Dover and taken to the Sailors' Home. The ship had no boats out — she had no time — but we got ours out. There was a rush of the crews to get out their boats immediately after the crash. Only one ould be launched from the KiUochan before she heeled over oh her side and went down within two minutes. The steamer also could launch only one boat before she followed to the bottom in three minutes more."