FIRE AT SEA

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10145, 23 January 1911, Page 5

FIRE AT SEA

CABLE NEWS

United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.

CARGO STEAMER ABLAZE. THREE LIVES LOST. (Received January 21, 8.55 a.m.) SYDNEY, January 21. Reports' from Albany state that the fire started on the steamer Parisiana on 11th Decemiber, and continued until the 14th, when the vessel, which was in the vicinity of St. Paul's Island, was abandoned. The crew landed on the island, and were taken off by the steamer British Transport on 11th January. The fire broke out between decks, where a quantity of resin was stored. The bulkheads were cut away, and the" fire attacked from different points, but unsuccessfully. AN INFERNO. The vessel was. soon an inferno, beams, and stanchions being all aglow at white heat. Ironwork" was bent and . twisted into all' shapes. Next day;the coal was alight, and soon the steamer was- a; seething " m&ss of flame. Violent explosions, occurred at intervals during the night. The captain then decided to abandon the vessel, and made for St. Paul's Island, which was calculated to be forty-one miles to the eastward. Two boats were used, the captain taking charge of one and the chief officer the other. The crew took "any of their possessions they could carry, but owing to the rough weather all surplus baggage was > thrown overboard. TREMENDOUS EXPLOSION. Just as the boats left, a tremendous explosion occurred, , and great rents were made in the ship's side. The boats lost sight of each other at daylight. The chief officer's was the first to make the island, on 15th December. The captain's boat arrived on the following Saturday afternoon. FIREMAN SMOTHERED. A fireman named Late was smothered in the bunkers prior to the ship beinp abandoned. Before reaching the island two other deaths occurred The unfortunate victims were Bannon, the fourth engineer, who was,consumptive, and a man • named Heine, who vvas buried on the island. , THE RESCUE. The Parisiana's crew climbed to the top of the crater island, and raised a flag upside down. The British Transport sighted the flag, and the castaways, whose food was almost exhausted, came off in their own 'boats. The Britisli Transport was bound" for Melbourhej but -the captain de : pall at Albany.-iiiorder -■ to' relieve the anxiety regarding ■■ the" Parisiana. The shipwrecked people owe 'their rescue to the fact that, the British Transport, in light trim, was driven south by bad weather: otherwise she would not have,been in the vicinity of the island. " *£"■'■* RETICENCE. The captain and officers of the Parisiana are reticent. CARGO. The Parisiana had ten thousand tons : of cargo for Australia and New Zealand, valued at from £175,000 to £200,000. The estimated value of the vessel was £56,000. LATER PARTICULARS. A GRAPHIC DTSCRTPITON CREW "WORK LIKE DEMONS. A TRYING EXPERIENCE. ■Received This' Morning, 12.25 o'clock. PERTH, January 22. Mr Macalister, a steward of the Parisiana, gives a graphic description of the disaster to the vessel. , The fire was discovered by a ship's carpenter, at six o'clock in the morning, smouldering in the bunkers. Fruitless efforts were' made to smother it. All hands started to shift the coal from the bunkers. Fireman Tait was smothered through the coal giving way. ; Two other hands were "overcome

by.jfehe fumes, but were restored by artificial means., ...«•". *. ; Holes: were then cut in the decks, ;- '• 'if I'vjf'' ■ > '. . . . • • and fjrater poured in, but the fire' continued to spread. Thfecrew worked like demons until five o'clock next morning, when .the flames burst out from the bunker hatchet. ■ • The vessel continued steaming towards .Australia -until six . at night, when the captain decided to make for St. Paul's Island.. Tlie deck's by this time were red hot. A heavy sea was running, and the vessel was shrouded in a pall of smoke. Suddenly she gave a heavy list, and it was feared she would turn turtle. After drifting for a time towards the island, the fire gaining rapidly and thb flames licking the sides of the bridge, the captain ordered the boats to be lowered, 'v. Owing to the. extreme heat and heavy sea>; great; difficulty.was ..expert ienced in. boarding the boats. . The captain, first and second mates, and first and second engineers, stayed aboard till past seven o'clock at night, when they left, the burning steamer. They tied themselves to the stern of the vessel for a time, waiting the possibility of the vessel burning out, but the sea was so rough that they had to cast oft'. Soon after leaving,- a great explosion occurred through the ship's rockets going off. The middle of the steamer appeared to be a mass of fire. They drifted about all night with the -burning vessel in view. Next morning they approached again, and found her still burning, • but a complete wreck. ■ They.then started for the; island," whicli was thirty-five miles distant. The mates' boafyi. reached the island in two days. The captain's boat", in which was MacAlister, was knocked about in a heavy sea for six nights and five days. They had a terrible time, with only a single biscuit and one drink of water daily. Several times the boat was almost swamped. After reaching the island they found plenty of fish, which they supplemented with penguin and seal flesh. There were plenty of rabbits and a number of goats on the island, but they could not catch them. They managed to carry the ship's pets—two cats and a dog—with them to the island.