The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1883-07-10 00:00:00

APPALLING CALAMITY AT A LAUNCH ON
THE CLYDE.
MANY WORKMEN DROWNED.

RICOVIST OF H BODICII.

A most distreming occurrence, which threw the
whole of Govan into • painful commotion, occurred on
Tuesday in the ship-boil ling yard of Alexander
mtephen and Sons, Linthouse. The calamity arose
thr. nigh the capsizing of a reseal while being launched,
and .4 tho hundred persons who were ratio:wed to be
on b and at the Lim-, and who were submerged, it is es
yet in, o Bible to say how many were drowned, but
the meet b petal acc unfit Vace the number at nearly
ouediaif. The .c :asion that led to the dis inter was
the 1 tunching .4 the Daphne, • screw steamer ,4 500
tnv, buil: tor the Glasgow and Londonderry Steam
Packet C .mparry. At half-past 11 the vessel was
ready tog lot • the water, end it is supposed that at
the time there was at lout 100 men on board, compris-
ing jot are, engineer., labourers, and other workmen
conneeted wit., the yen'; the number on b red is
placed t a less 6.3tre, hut the general opinion is
that there were about 109. When everything was
reary the erre 4 wee let loose, and elided safely at rug
the ways, but when once in the water, to the coneterna-
lion of the /le t store, elie canted over, anti without a
moment's warning I.ll'k beneath the water. For a
minute nothing wos seen but the great commotion on
the water, and thee men appeared on the surface who
swam for their lives. 'rhose on shore, recovering from
their dismay, rendered all the assistance in their piwer,
and drew the mu cut of th water aa they apprnache
the side. Many struck out for the opposite side of the
river, and were recited at the ship-building yard ef
Messrs. Barclay. Carle, and Co.; boat, were immedi-
ately launched, and ev ry available craft at hand was
.01,11001104 to render aseiatance at the rescuirer of the
unfortunate men. At the vain° time messengers were
deenedched to Govan and Glaegow for doctors, and in
short time a number of them were On the spot with
every restorative th it could be epplied to suspended
animation. 'rbieo reiteue.l had every attention paid
to them, and where it coald be done with safety were
removed in c be t their homes. The ambulance corps
onuected with the works ale rendered valuable ni.l,
and, in fact, nothing was left undone to save the lives
of these who had been submerged. Meanwhile news
of the dieeter reached the burgh of Govan, and
though received with incredulity at fitst, the ru.th of
c the contairrieg half. Irowned in ti. rolle tin blanket.,
con vince.l them that something unurial had happened.
I nun. distely the yard was crowded with excit-d men,
women, and children auzioua to ascertain ab ,ut their
relations. Women with distressed faces ran along the
way to the yard, wringing their hand. and crying, and
added to the consternation and excitement in the yard.
Work in the yard for • time was compl-tely suspended,
and the workmen met in knote to dismiss the calamity
or rushed to the shore to lend what aid they could
in vac ,vering the bodies. As it was high water
at the time, the vessel is completely under water,
and to the stranger there is nothing to indicate
where she lies. A great many small boats plied
ab rut the scene, and men with grapnels searched
the water for the bodies of the number who
went down. It is imp esible to say how many were
loot anti how many were saved. Those fortunate
enough to be rented either walked away or were put
In ca... tni driven AT to their homes. Up to ab rut
erie o'clock, however, not one .4 the bodies of those
drowned had been recovered, and it is 'opposed that
they must be held in different parts of the ship.
Some estimate the loss at 50, while others place it
at a much lower ti;ure. Messrs. Alex. Stephen and
John Steohen were on the spot. and sAoptel every
men-ore pr posed to recover the bodies ; and It hi
expected that .livers will be got to search about the
ship for the unf 'none.. men. A proposal was imme-
diately made to raise the vessel out of the water, and
for this purp re messengers were sent to procure the
necessary apparatus. A number of policemen were
present to keep as much order as was noughts under
the circumstances, though every advantage was given
to persons whose relatives had not turned up to roam
the yard. In Govan itself it seemed as if a gloom had
been cast over the place. People congregated in large
numbers at street oorners, isauotered on the way to the
shipbuilding-yard, or looked out of the windows—
talking over the drea Ifni event, or watching with
interest the pa•sing cabs carrying drenched men rolled
in blankets. The crowd at the yard was immensely
increased when the men employed by the other ship-
building firms were released from dinner at one o'clock,
and it required the yard to be cleared of all but those
whose business or interest gave them cause to be pre-
sent. Meantime a number of boob are engaged drag-
ging the river.