DOCK BURST.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 September 1920, Page 10

DOCK BURST.

AVALANCHE OF SHIPS. Liverpool, June 7. Within sight of hundreds of passengers in the Mersey ferry boats yesterday the 500-ton steamship Countess of Glasgow, was seen to burst the gates of the Alfred Dock, Birkenhead and to cqme head down into the river, followed by a cataract of released water, on which sixteen smaller vessels were tossed like corks and sunk. The loss will be about £1,000,000. At the moment it is not clear if any lives were lost, When the event occurred it was about three hours from high tide, and the Countess was riding in the Alfred Dock waiting until the rise of water would enable the doek gates to be opened so that she could pass out into the river. The level of the water in the dock was then 12ft higher than tide level in thd river. It was the "thirty feet gate," one of four spanning the openings to this important dock system, which was involved. Behind lay all manner of craft, from liners to steam tugs, barges and flats. Without warning the Countess struckthe gate, smashed it to matchwood, went head down over the 12ft waterfall, righted herself as if by a miracle, cut in halves a large barge lying oustide, and plunged into mid-river, to the consternation of ferry boat passengers and the skippers of other vessels. A thrilling spectacle followed. People saw the onrush of 500,000 tons of water through the 30ft. gateway. "It bubbled out like champagne through the neck of a bottle," was one eye-witness' description.

Barges and lighters were spun round and up and down in the whirl as if they were toy boats caught in a storm. Their crowe were helpless to stave off what seemed certain destruction, and stuck grimly to their posts. Their craft were sucked into the cauldron and cast headlong into the river. "It made me think of pictures I have seen of shooting the rapids," remarked one young steersman, "and the plunge at the end was terrifying." Most of the barges broke in two. Ten Were found to-day at low tide, just outside the dock entrance. Apparently one had gone crashing on the top of another. Ironwork was twisted like wire. Many thousands tons of coal and grain', comprising their cargoes were piled up around them. As their craft sank the crews were thrown violently into the swirl. Nearly thirty men were rescued by tugs. Many men saved themselves by leaping from one barge to another before reaching the gateway and jumping on to the quay sides. Those who went over the cataract clung for dear life to the sides of the vessels. A man and his two so*ns were rescued together. Another man helped his brother to tho side until he could be hauled to safety. Two boys fishing from a barge outside the gates were washed away, but the police cannot trace anyene missing. Another man in a lighter is said to have been drowned while preparing his meal below, but neither in this ease nor in that of a man who was seen to be sucked under a barge can confirmation of their fate be obtained. They could have been rescued at any point in the river. The police have started dragging operations to see if there are any bodies, but up to the present none have been recovered. Inquiries at the Mersey Dock Board offices from the police and the owners of barges have not revealed any missing men. It is really a miracle if there is no loss of life. David Garnett, a lighterman, said: — •"As the Countess came through the narrow opening she crashed against the wall and made, a hole in her stern. T. thought she was going to turn turtle. It was a miracle how she came through it with the hole in her stem. She just missed the oil tanker, Sam Valero, by a good bit of seamanship on the part of that ship, and later went ashore at Tranmcre, a mile farther down. The sudden rush of water from the dock placed the vessels moored inside in jeopardy, as they all touched bottom and were feeling the strain. Emergency gates, however, were closed and shackled by a diver. In the river there was a trail of wreckage through which the ferry steamers ploughed.