Thames Steamer Sunk.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 261, 8 November 1904, Page 4

Thames Steamer Sunk.

200 PASSENGERS IN PERIL ATI KEW. I

The well-known river steumei Queen Elizabeth, with some two hundred passengers on board, struck a submerged pile in the middle of tlw Thames, at Kew BrkVgw, on Sept. ■> and at oiico commenced to sink.

Captain Brooks immediately made I for ICcw Bridge landing stage, a hun-■ dred yards away, and succeeded ill disembarking all his passengers safely. How narrow was the escape of those oji board is shown by the f a ct that when the Queen Elizabeth got to the pier the water was eighteen.' inches deep in the cabin. The srteamer was making her return journey from Hampton Court to London, and reached Kew Bridge about twenty minutes to seven. The tide was but aind the captain, noticing that the water was particularly low, took the boat through thte central arch instead of through one at the 1 ride of the river.

Most of the passengers were on the deck enjoying the beautiful evening when the boat gave a tremendous lurch. She had struck something on the bed of the river, presumably un old pile. CAPTAIN'S COOLNESS. Many of the startled passengers took the tiling as a joke, but the captain knew what had happened, and, without giving a hint to the crowd on deck, quietly took the steamer to the landing stage. Then, and not till then, the people on board knew that there was something wrong. They were all asked to le a ve the boat at once, aind so quickly rnwi well was the matter managed that all were ashore within live or six minutes.

Me a nwhile, the steim of the steamer was rapidly filling, and one of the crew said that a barmaid on board w a s up to her knees in water before she could escape. Througili it all there was not a sign of panifc, thimks largely to the coolness and ability of Captain Brooks. —Home Paper.