A SHIPPING HOLOCAUST.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81866, 16 October 1906, Page 3

A SHIPPING HOLOCAUST.

STEAMER DESTROYED AT HONGKONG. CHINEBE PASSENGERS LNCINEBATED. Hokgkoxg, October 14. The steamer Canton uas burnt at a Hongkong wharf before daybreak. One hundred Chinese passengers were incinerated. A valuable cargo was destroyed. The European passengers and crew were saved. TWO THOUSAND PASSENGERS ABOABD. AN INFLAMMABLE CAKGO. Received 15, 9.36 p.m. Hohoeosg, October 15. The steamer burnt at Hongkong was the Hankow, not the Canton Shehad two thousand Chinese and seven European passengers aboard. The cargo consisted of matting and raw silk. The vessel Had just berthed, and in a few minutes was ablaze fore and aft. It was impossible to get the hose to work, u the fire floats were damaged in the recent cyclone, A SUDDEN OUTBREAK. EUfiOPEAN PASSENGERS EhCAPE IN NIGHTCLOTHES. HUNDREDS OP CHINESE INCINEBATED. IMPRISONED IN THE STEERAGE. INCENDIARISM SUSPECTED. Received 15,9.12 p.m. Hosgkong, Octobarlo. The Europeans aboard the Hankow were awakened by an alarm and rushed down the gangway, the ladies escaping in their night dresses. The crew followed, but it was impossible, owing to the inflammable cargo, to assist the Chinese m the steerage, who were shrieking for help. Besides hundreds incinerated, many jumped overboard and were drowned. Warships, including the cruiser Flora and other vessels, were sent to the Hankow's assistance. _ The outbreak is attributed to incendiarism, as the outcome of the boycott on British river boats. The Hankow is a total loss.