ANOTHER BOILER EXPLOSION.

Thames Guardian and Mining Record, Volume I, Issue 7, 14 October 1871, Page 3

ANOTHER BOILER EXPLOSION.

FROM FIFTY TO SIXTY KILLED OR WOUNDED. Mobile, Ala, August 28th. The low pressure steamer ‘ Ocean Wave ’ exploded her boiler at half-past 5 o’clock on Sunday afternoon, at the wharf at Point Clear. There were about two hundred excursionists on board, from fifty to sixty of whom were killed or wounded. A portion of the bodies were brought to this city by the steamers ‘Fountain’ and ‘Annie,’ last night, and others will be brought here to-day. Efforts , are being made for the recovery of the bodies drowned. The cause of the disaster has not been ascertained, and an investigation will be made. Out of seven persons —comprising one Creole family—six were killed. The captain, engineer, and pilot arc all killed. Only three of the boat’s officers escaped. [second despatch]. The steamer 1 Ocean Wave ’ left the city on Sunday 7 morning with 200 persons for an excursion to Fish river, about 20 miles from the city. On the return trip the boat reached Point Clear at 5 p.m., and made fast. A part of the passengers then went ashore, and after the lapse of a half an hour the whistle was blown, and all returned to the boat. They had just got on board when the boiler exploded with great force, followed by a rumbling, hissing sound. The fragments of the boat and metal were blown in every direction. The foreward part of its cabin was carried away, and part of the after cabin crushed. The boat almost immediately sunk, and her bow is now submerged. About fifty or sixty persons were killed and injured by the explosion. So far the bodies of 19 dead persons, eight of whom are ladies, are recovered. Twenty-eight of the wounded were brought to the city, one of them a girl, who has since died. The scene was appalling and heartrending, and wilder grief was seldom witnessed. Many of the passengers wero children. Captain William Eaton swam for some time with both legs broken. A boat reached him just too late, and he went down. The two pilots were killed, also all the firemen. The engineer and his wife arc injured. It is impossible to correctly estimate the loss of lives. By some it is supposed that at least 30 or 40 persons are still buried in the debris of the wreck or at the bottom of the bay. A diver has gone to the scene. The disaster has cast a gloom over the whole city. A universal sadness prevails. The streets are crowded with people, and the excitement and feeling is intense. The ‘ Ocean Wave’ has for some time been considered an unsafe boat, and always been unlucky. The appeardnee of the boiler indicated that it had yielded through rottenness, as it had been torn apart in a long seam.. Had it exploded with greater violence the destruction of life would have been more general. The force of the explosion was directed upward and forward. THE EXPLOSION OF THE ‘ OCEAN WAVE.’ MORE DEATHS REPORTED. Mobile, August 29th. A submarine diver of Mobile has explored the sunken wreck of the ‘ Ocean Wave, but failed to discover any bodies. He reports the boat terribly shattered by the explosion. The casualties are 55 killed and 39 wounded. Many persons believed to have been on board the 1 Ocean Wave’ at the time are still missing. Three more of the wounded died this afternoon.—‘ Weekly Bulletin.’