THE TAINUI.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 316, 30 May 1913, Page 5

THE TAINUI.

A BIG HOLE. FURTHER COLLISION JUST AVOIDED. By Cable—Press Association—Copyright. London, May 28. The steamer Tainui has a hole three feet by two, which is being temporarily repaired at Corunna. All the meat in No. I hold is bad and will probably be jettisoned. No. 2 hold is not flooded. The passengers were not informed of the seriousness of the collision till the evening. The vessel's bows sank till walking on the deck was like climbing a hill. Later the passengers were advised to retire, and the majority did so. They were awakened at 2 o'clock in the morning and lifebelts were served out.

The steamer Garth Castle, with the Tainui's passengers, twice narrowly es- ( ped collisions with tramps while proup the Channel in a fog. Captain Cruise did not leave the bridge for three days and nights.

A NARROW ESCAPE. HOW THE COLLISION OCCURRED. By Cable—Press Association—Copyright. Received 29, 10.30 p.m. . • London, May 28. Passengers interviewed at Plymouth state that the Tainui ran into the fog on Saturday afternoon. It was impossible to see more than a few yards ahead.. At seven o'clock -on Sunday morning the Inca suddenly loomed up in the mist. The bows of the steamers collided, as one was crossing the course of the other.

Many of the passengers on the deck saw the Inca's crew, some half naked, rushing for the boats, before tliev lost sight of the vessel. Forward the Tainui began to dip, until a few hours afterwards the propeller was visible out of ,the water. The boats on the promenade deck were lowered. Wireless calls reached the Garth Castle forty miles away, but it was ten in the evening before she reached the Tainui. The fog was still dense. A majority of the passengers went to sleep, and some undressed.

The situation, however, steadily grew worse, and they were awakened at three o'clock on Monday and told to don the lifebelts and be transferred to the Garth Castle. This was safely accomplished in an hour, in the Tainui's boats. The Garth Castle's boats, forming a line, acted as guides between the vessels, which were three-quarters of a mile apart. It is significant that boat drill was practised on the Tainui eighteen hours earlier, just before the fog came on'. The passengers were accommodated in the saloon and the steerage rooms. Many male passengers gave up, their .berths;