The Sun.
London, England, 1860-11-06 00:00:00

DREADFUL EXPLOSION IN THE

NORTH SEA.

Intelligence was received at Great Yarmouth,
about two o'clock on Sunday morning, of a fearful
explosion on board the large paddle steamer
Tonning, which formerly belonged to the North of
Europe Steampacket Company, but which has
latterly been trading between London and Tonning
on private account. The Tonning left Tonning on
Friday morning at an early hour, and was on Satur-
day, about 50 miles east of Yarmouth, at one o'clock
in the afternoon, in the midst of the fleet of fishing
boats out on the herring voyage. While among
the fleet the steamer hove to for the purpose of pro-
curing a few fish for the crew. She had not been
hove to above two or three minutes when a
tremendous explosion of one or both her boilers
took place, blowing up her decks, part of her crew,
and a great quantity of fire, smoke, and steam.
The report was distinctly heard throughout the
whole fleet of several hundred fishing vessels, and
by most of them the explosion was seen, and is
described as having been of a most painful and
striking character. The frightful nature of the
accident was not at first understood, but there being
no doubt as to its effect, the fishing boats sent a
number of their small boats with men to render any
assistance in their power. Oa reaching the steamer
they found her to be very seriously damaged, and
there were doubts for some little time as to whether
she would not speedily go down. The fishermen
boarded her, when they discovered a scene of the
most distressing character, they saw, beside the
havoc committed by the explosion upon the ship and
among the cattle, the bodies of a number of men,
some dead, and some in a state of great agony from
scalds, burns, and contusions. The fishermen at
once offered every assistance they could to the sur-
vivors. The crew of the steamer consisted of 27
men and a boy ; and it was ascertained from the
captain (who had escaped injury), after examining
the vessel, that several of the seamen were blown
high into the air and seven were found to be miss-
ing, and three, who died soon afterwards, were lying
among the broken timber and iron in a dying state.
Seven others were very severely injured, and are at
the Yarmouth Hospital, whither they were taken
on Sunday morning at three o'clock, having been
brought to the beach by the fishing boats. The
engineer—who lost a sou in the• explosion—was
among those taken to the hospital, and the two men
most severely injured are the chief mate and a
Dutchman, who was proceeding to London with
the cattle. The bodies of the three men, who died
soon atter, or who were dead when taken out of the
ship, were conveyed to the workhouse at Yarmouth,
where an inquest will be held upon them by Mr.
C. H. Chamberlin, the coroner of the borough.
The steamer was towed into Yarmouth Roads
about 11 o clock on Sunday, and has been taken on
to Lowestoft. It appears from what can be ascer-
tained at present, that at the time of the explosion
the boilers were only working at a pressure of
151 b. to the square inch ; they worked with three
valves, two showing a pressure of 121 b., and one
15 Lb., and they were all blowing free. The occur-
rence seems to have been purely accidental, and it
is not expected that uny fact to the contrary will
be elicited at the inquest.

YARMOUTH, MONDAY NIGHT.

The chief mate and Yunker Aintz, the foreigner
in charge of the cattle, are in great danger ; 6e
former is delirious. The steamer is lying at Lowes-
toft. This afternoon the Yarmouth coroner com-
menced an inquiry into the cause of the disaster.