The Sun.
London, England, 1852-07-02 00:00:00

FRIGHTFUL COLLISION ON THE

RIVER.
A collision of the most alarming and frightful cha-
racter occurred yesterday afternoon in the river Thames,
off Northfleet Paint-by which the Daehess of Kent,
Ramsgate steamer;the_ ,property of the C6ramercial
Steam Navigation_ Cenapeny,_
_CaptainliVilliata Hum-
phreys, commander; was:run down by the Ravensbourne,
Captain Bacon, the property of the Geteral Steam Na-
vigation Company, and bound to Antwerp -with nearly
200 passengers and full cargo.
The following particulars of the accident,-gathered on
the spot at the time it took place, may be relied on:—lt
appears that the Ravensbourne was- steaming down the
river with full tide in her favour, immediately in the
wake and just on the starboard,. side of- the Meteor,
Gravesend steam-boatatend errivednearly opposite North-
fleet Point about two o'clock: s:On nearing the Point the
Duchess of Kent, Ramsgate steamer, was coming up the
river against tida.and hugging the southern Shore—the
tide running very strongly. The_. Ravensbourne was
about three parts over the river on the Kent shore, and,
as she approached Northfleet Point, appeared to take the
starboard tack, and as she neared the-Duchess of
Kent coming up, the - latter crossed, apparently
with the object of passing between the
Ravensbourne and the Meteor, ,wheti, in an instant,
consequent on the heavy way on a large and power-
ful steamer like the Rivensbourue, and on her
having the tide with her and being in full steam, before
the Duchess of Kent could cross her she ran into her
hews about twenty feet from her figure head, or just be-
fore the Windlass on -the starboard bow. Tee crash was
frightful, tiad the Duchess of Kent; after heeling back-
ward from the violence of the shock for a moment, was
found to have her etarboasd bow completely stove in, and
nearly cut in two. She immediately began to fill and to
commence sinking, bows foremost. The scene among
the passengers, a large number of WhOna were ladies
with children, is described as truly frightful. A rush was
made en masse to the after part of the veseel, and women
with children were seen clinging to various parts of the
sinking ship. The captain of the Raversbourne, finding
that the Duchess.of Kent Was rapidly sinking, tanked,
cud the rush made by the passengers of the Duchess of
Kent to get on board of her .was dreadful, and women
with children iu their arms became so 'frantic That they
absolutely rushed in their fright to the still sinking part
of the ship; at this 'moment the Meteor arrived along-
side, and the passengers and crew on deck were literally
,!ragged on board of her, and on board the Ravensbourne,
with one exception. This was a gentleman named Hale,
a brewer, or Breadstairs, Isle of Thanet, who, being
infirm, could not be, reached, and, still remaining
on his seat, went down. with the vessel, which in a
few minutes suck, bows first, almost perpendicularly,
the keel being lifted as She sank 20 or 30 feet out of the
water. The captain of the Duchess of Kent, it is only
justice to state, was, with the exception of Mr. Hair, the
last to leave his ill-fated vessel, and his escape was truly
miraculous. A rope had been throWn from the Revens•
bourne over the stern of the Duchess of Kent, and fas-
tened, and as the last portion of the vessel reached the
water he seized the rope and was hauled on board. Mr.
Hale, although unable froth infirmity to assist himself
while on board the vessel, most extraordinary to relate,
the moment he reached the water struck out and kept
afloat until rescued by one of the boats lowered from the
.Meteer. The scene of consternation which prevailed
after the Duchess of Kent had sunk, both on board the
Ravensbourne and the Meteor, can be better imagined
than described. Mothers, fathers, husbands and wives,
who had become separated, some being taken on board
the Ravensbourne, others on board the Meteor and the
Topaz, which had also artived at the moment the
Duchess of Kent went down, having missed and being
unaware of the fate of each other, were to be seen
running about in the most frantic manner, making in-
quiries as to the safety cf their relatives. One lady on
board the Meteor was in a most frightful condition, as
she stated that she had left her two children asleep in
the cabin, and was on cfeck at the moment the vessel
struck, and had not seen or been able, to glean any
tidings of them. It cis also stated that at the moment
of the collision nearly the whole of the passengers (about
seventy in number) were on deck; but it is believed
there were some few in the fore cabin, and as there are
some still missing, it is feared they may have son© down
with the vessel, the belief being, in consequence of the
immense power of the Ravensbourne, that at least
twenty feet of the bows of the Duchess or Kent was cut
away by the crash. This.belief is justified by the fact
that from the moment of, the collision to the time the
Duchess of Kent entirely sank beneath the surface of the
water was little more than eight or nine minutes. The
fore cabin must have filled immediately.
As soon as the consternation created by the catas-
trophe had in some measure subsided, the boats of the
various vessels which had arrived at the spot were sta-
tioned in the vicinity of the sunken steamer, with a view
to pick up any bodies which might float out of the wreck
The Ravensbourne and the Meteor, haying the rescued
passengers on board, proceeded on to the Terrace pier
at Gravesend, where the affrighted passengers were
landed and mustered, and, as before stated, it is believed
that some few are missing; but from the confusion
which still prevailed anything like accurate information
could not be obtained.

Incidents of the most exciting character took place.
As the Duchess of Kent was rapidly sinking, a gentle-
man was observed itishing up one of the paddle-boxes
with a little girl in his arms. The Meteor was then ap-
proaching to render aid, and so great was his excitement
that in the desire to save the child before the Meteor had
reached within ten or twelve yards of the sinking ship,
he raised her up with the view of throwing her on to
the 'Meteor, but at the moment the shrieks of the pas-
sengers on board the approaching vessel restrained him,
and thus the child was saved from inevitable destruc-
tion.

It is admitted on all hands that the conduct of the
captains of the Meteor and the Ravensbourne, as well
as the crews of both vessels, was most praiseworthy.
Captain Humphreys was below at dinner at the moment
of the collision, and the vessel was at the time in charge
of the mate, who is' stated to -be fully competent, being
also a river pilot. The Ravenebourne was also at the
time of the collision in charge of a river pilot, and
having been examined and found to have sustained but
little injury, after landing the passengers at Gravesend,
proceeded on her voyage.'
The place where the Duchess of Kent lies a wreck,
under water, although technically called Northfleet
Point, is midway between Rosherville pier and the ac-
tual Point, and immediately opposite Northfleet church,
and about one-fourth of the width of the river out from
the Kent shore at high tide. Last evening, at 8 o'clock,
when the tide was down only about -two yards, one of
the masts of the Duchess of Kent could be seen above
water.
Although it was stated that there was not any great
amount of luggage 9n board- the Duchess of Rent, we
were informed tht -Much of it was of a valuable de-
scription, and one gentleman stated that he had all the
property he held in the world on board, among which
was a lerge amount of valuable jewellery. It is under-
stood that some steps will be taken as soon as the tide is
out to get out the luggage; and ascertain if there are any
bodies in the ship, but considerable doubts are enter-
tained whether it will be possible to recover her.
One gentleman informed the reporter that but for the
praiseworthy exertions of some of the Passengers on
board the Meteor, his life end that of his wife would
have been sacrificed. She was in the after cabin, and
when the collision took place he rushed down, and had
just succeeded with great difficulty in reaching the deck,
which the water had already covered. Ho rushed with
eheseshe of
neared Kent
wars her in his arms to the starboard side, and they were in-
stantly dragged on board the Meteor, but by what means
he could not tell.
CapprteisieneeHdiuemg pahtreeyns -
esrtdatiensartyhatvetheee
wDbuec
that part of the river known as Northfleet Point, at
about 10 minutes past 2 o'clock, at which time she was
met by the Ravensbourne, belonging to the General
Steam Navigation Company, and commanded by Capt.
Moen, bound to Antwerp with upwards of 150 pee.
sengers on board. This vessel was at the time under
the charge of the pilot; the mate of the Duchess of
Kent, who was an experienced river pilot, being in
charge of that vessel, and the second mate and another of
the boat's crew being at the wheel. The Duchess of
Kent at the time of this melancholy occurrence was pro.
ceeding at an average speed against the tide, when the
Ravensbourne was eeen approaching at full speed on the
starboard side. ``Orders were immediately given to stop
were
reverse the engines of the Duchess of Kent,
Which
. re tit once obeyed, but the Ravensbourne, which
11 a vessel of three times the tonnage of the
a m and, withiippatiuhlnletifcluer, continued her hbeorwoonfw
theard
armletcourse,
Duchess of Kente'_ advanced with undiminished-
asutedamraerr'."-Nnoe sooner was the shook felt than the greates
whole of
a
excitement and consternation pervaded the
passengers and crew, as it was perceived at once that the
and
Ksceaertcewlyeitelitnedot
theyt
ipsyuotrttbep se
were
ed riperpendicular
frightfuluinelapsedia rimpb :pf,l: i ;r
ins: plunge,' thee t.
,' bowDuchessAse danger,r eame eotfsht
e,
alarm
aalmost3
btheetweeeepnte6iOn
given a
Captain Humphreys adopted- every. means to insure the
attl 70.
the
the Limo
slat: ehtiys oeffftohretsils;:lesrs 'ass9ulamtebelerbirlyg
theß av ecnosi
Gravesendbl i a is eioran_
bete-
oeotit
k,ii _
pd
which
lao ethe, a
iwiedas
epbtrtaacciyiestdheo
the united
beutrynh the
engines
i ne
ef
efforts
rweonf
the danger became apparent.
the crews of the three steamere, and timelyx use
of their boats, all the passengers,withMeteor or exception °I
one, were got safely on board rho
to e Ravens-
bourne, Captain Humphreys r . le
maul
_g the last on
the one exception
alluded the einking steamer, with
.xception
d t
theee
alluded to, whorose again unman, -"°
went down With ,the vessel, but mediatelv
s rescued e
to the surface of the water, and,
The was ,rescued
of by
°Tie of
was an old
the boats of the Meteor. remainder
and decreed gen
wi.
the pas-
sengersh rd the Ravensbourne
A
were taken: on board .and
landed at Gravesend: There was
.on this occasion less
t is stated th
luggage than usual on board, and i
_ft
taiia H at nearly
the whole has been recovered. t-;
f were sautulehreys
feels confident that all the passenger d b ved, not-
. that eiense etween the
withstanding the short time r r
supposed bythosee
collision and the sinking vessel, -
It
issunken vessel
on board that the furs part of the
received must
have been cut off. The Ravensbourne _ no eae,
ghted Paasengers
trial injury, and afterelandivg the ad©.
a toa arde the Bele
at Gravesend proceeded en leer pais g
gian coast.
---

-----
FURTHER PARTICULARS•
gives the following graphic description Mr. John Worrell, a passenger on board the Meteor,
terrific scene :—He was standing on the stern of the
Meteor, admiring the "lliMt)," with which the steamer
manoeuvred, anA watehod the Duchess of Nent advzncing
ption of the sudden and
to F•ssa betwedu the . Gravesend boat and the 1-Liveus-
bourne, when in a moment he heard a noise like a peal of
thunder,
andsew the,stern of the vessel raised almost
erpendicukrly in the air. The scene that ensued WII
tterrific. The n
Olssengers, to the number of about 100,
rushed to and. fro,.land .tha cries of the women and
children YP31.9 West 4efuireuding. Every effort was made

a D

to render the assistance necessary, and the boats
of. the Ravensbourne and Meteor were at once
lowered. All the passengers were saved with the ex-
ception of one elderly gentleman named Hale, a brewer
of Broad-stairs, who was prevented by decreptitude,
from making the necessary exertion to rescue, himself.
He and Csptain Humphreys alone remained on board the
vessel. The latter, by means of a rape attached to the
stern of the Meteor, escaped from the ill-fated vessel,
which in an instant afterwards went down with a
frightful plunge, taking with it Mr. Hale, who, however,
rose to the surface, and was picked up by the boat of
the Meteor, by which many others of the rescued pas-
sengers were conveyed to Gravesend.
The escape of the engineers and firemen on board the
Duchess of Kent was most miraculous. Immediately
prior to the shock, they received an order to " stand by"
and reverse the engines. It was not until they felt the
water rushing in that they made their escape from the
engine-room to the deck, and thence on board the Ra-
yenehourne.

Mr. Jamieson, superintendent of the Diamond Com-
pany, was on board the Topaz, a-head of the Ravens-
bourne; the latter vessel passed, when off Erith, et a
good speed, but, being in the middle of the Thames, had
the tide against her. She paased at Erith snd at New
liortbfleet had made such way that she was considerably
a.b.cad. At this point Captain Shoring, of the Topaz,
peiceivcd the Duchess of Kent in colliaion with the Its-
venshourne, and the funnel of the former disappeared
almost instantaneously. The Sapphire, belonging to
the same company, having her steam up, advanced to
render any assistance that might be required.
The loss will amount to many thousand pounds.