The Sun.
London, England, 1838-09-03 00:00:00

LOSS OF LIFE ON THE RIVER

. ..e. .......) a

Yesterday morning, soon after ten o'clock, a
fearful acci-
dent occurred in the Pool, exactly off Wapping New Stairs,
by the running down of a boat, containing seven persons, 11. Y
the Rose, a Woolwich steamer. Two women unfortunately,
lost their lives, and the others were placed in a situa:ien °I
great jeopardy. It appears that the party, consisting of three
men, belonging to Stratford, and four women, left that pt.' ce
about nine o'clock, and came down Bow Creek into tb e
Thames, for the purpose of going to Hammersmith. TWO
men were rowing, but the party had no watermen with them-
On arriving at Wapping, the Rose, an old steam-vessel, 011
her way to Woolwich, under the command of Captain Tucker,
was seen bearing towards them at full speed. The crew of
the steamer and the people in the boat hailed each other to go
clear ; but owing to the alarm into which the people were
thrown by the steamer coming down so fast upon them, and
their own want of skill, a collision took place, the bows of the
steamer struck the boat, and all the party were thrown out
into the River. The Rose passed over some of the individus..lN
who were directly afterwards seen struggling in the water..
with the exception of one man, who clung to the bob stay ed
the Rose, and was taken on board. Wherries put off from
both shores to preserve the sufferers, and two police galley,'
from the Thames Police Office opposite also rowed te'
the spot; but, with all their efforts, only five persons were
picked up. Two women, named Elizabeth Coventry, the
wife of a respectable mechanic, who was one of the parties
saved, and Elizabeth Beech, a single young woman, whose
parents reside at Stratford, were unfortunately drowned. The
two women twice sunk and rose again; the watermen and the
Thames police pulled as hard as they were able, and were
within a few yards of the poor creatures, when they again
went down and perished. Coventry, the husband, was oeit
a few yards from his wife when she sunk : he was dragged
into a boat in a most exhausted state. One of the females
had a very narrow escape : she got among the paddles of the
Rose, whence she was taken by a waterman and saved. 0
the survivors were taken to the Waterman's Arms public-
house, Wapping Old-stairs. One woman, who appeared in a
dying condition, was immediately stripped and restoratives
were applied, and she was provided with dry clothing. She
soon recovered, and about an hour afterwards she left town
with her friends, to convey the sad tidings to their relatives A
Stratford. Coventry appeared quite stupified on bearing that
his wife was lest, and he remained in his wet clothes bewail-
ing his loss in a manner which affected all present. The
name of one of his companions, who also went home in his
wet clothes, is William Gillman.

The watermen who saw the occurrence, and who are gene-
rally prejudiced against the steamers in consequence of their
rapid and dangerous navigation, attribute the accident to the
want of skill in the men rowing the boat, who did not knout
how to pull out of the way, but rowed towards the steamer.
The survivors, however, state that they were proceeding with the
greatest care, and on the steamer approaching them, when
she was within 300 yards of the boat, they called out as
loud as they were able, but no notice was taken of them 11
the master of the Rose, which never altered her course until
they were run down.
The Thames police continued dragging for the bodies of the
deceased women for several hours, but did not succeed is
finding them. They have, no doubt, been carried up the river
a considerable distance, as the tide was flowing at the time.