The Dispatch. [volume] (Provo City, Utah) 1891-1895, 1891-03-21
An Italian EnIgrant Ship Sunk
in the Mediterranean Sea.
CAUSED by colliding With
One of the British
EronciadS.
The liI-Fated Vessel Goes
Down Amid Awful ShriekS
OF Women and Children.

tar bay, and sank soon after. A
southwest gale was blowing at the
time.
One account of the disaster attri-
butes it to the fact that the British
warship AnSon was drifting before the
gale and rammed the Utopia abaft its
funnel. The Utopia was impaled on
the spar of the AnSon S ram and almost
Immediately sank. Everything posi-
bic was done by the officers and sea-
men. -Four seamen were washed
overheard and drowned from one of
the war boats steam launches while
taking part in the rescue.
The scene after the collision Was
! frightful. On one side the sinking
steamship, crowded with 700 immi-
grants shrieking with fright, and to
the right and left of the sinking vessel
were the monster battle ships Rodney
and Anson, pouring light from their
powerful electric Tetiectors upon the
disabled steamship. Here and there
were warships and small boats manned
by bluejacbets who strained every
nerve as they bent their ears in the
heavy sea. striving calamity to reach
the drowning passengers. The rescued
passengers esssestimated to number
abCut 200, possibly more, who were
cared for on the war ships or taken
ashore and housed in government
buildings. At this hour, $3.50 p. M,
the number Of persons saved is said
TO be 331, and the loss of life about
400, possibly less. Already thirty-two
bodies have been recovered. Divers
from the war ships are at work above
the spot where the Utopia sank, seek
ing to recover the dead bodies.
LONDON, March 1S.-The agents in
this city of the Anchor line, to which
the Utopla belonged, have been in
formed that the Utopia struck abaft
the engine room, and that she sank
stern foremost five minutes after the
collision, in seven fathOms OF water.
The agents announce that they find it
difficult to ascertain the exact number
of lives lost, but they say that 1870
Italians were saved, and that eight
bodies have been washed ashore and
that there are 173 persons rescued
from the Utopia alive who are on board
the British war ships. The agents add
the fol ee of the gale, which still pre-
walls in Gibraltar Bay, prevents the
|
satisfactorily with the commanders oil
the war ships, so they are unable tc
, ascertain the names of the survivors
Several boats belonging to the tleet
: were wrecked while engaged in the
1 rescue.
1 GIBRALTAR. March 18.-The divers
:, and boats creWS vino have been a
!. work all day in Ave effarts being made
. by the British nLyal authorities to re
c ceive as many as pSssible of the bod
E les of the passengers and crew of tht
y sunken steamer Utopia, have at thi
= hour received ninety bodies. Among
f those saved from the sinking vessel b.
: the boats of the men-of-war wer
twenty of the Utopia's crew. G. NJ
= Davis, OF Boston, saloon passenger,
: among those reported missing. Off
: GERS and crew of her majeSty'S Shi
Arson stated that the Utopia foule
with the ram of the Arson and thu
caused the damage which resulted i
y the passenger steamer sinking. Th
Anson's officers assert that no blam
g can be attached to the war vessel.
e 1t is now believed the loss of life b
the sinking of the steamer Utopia yes
d terday will reach $40.
n Petersen, the Swedish quartermas
ter who had been steering the Utopi
short time before the collision, say
just before the vessels came togethe
he went below. While there he fel
It the shock of the collision and Iushet
from below, but before he reached tn
main deck the Utopia lad gone broaC
side upon the spar of the Anson's ran
. The commander of the Utopia, CAY
n tain McKeane, according to Peterson
: was on the steamships bridge unit
q the last moment. Petersen adds tina
!, as the Utopia was crushed by the An
~ sons ram, he ella mbered up the davit
. of one of the steamships boats an
!, cut the ropes holding it, He had n
q time, however, to lower the boat away
. as the bows Of the Utopia had passe
n beneath the warship and it was eviden
q that the passenger steamer was raj
r idly sinking Soon after, the boats o
: the Arson having been promptly low
C cred, one of the man -of-war's cutter
ran along side of the Utopia and Pc
q tersen managed to jump into her. H
says while on board of the Utopia al
ter the collision he was surrounded b
terrible mass of human beings fight
ing their way desperately and savage
ly, regardless of sex or age, toward
the boats. Men, women and childre
y tumbled and climbed over each othe
in that horrible fight for chance G
escaping from drowning One poo
women who was rescued by AnS0n
bluejacketS went ravIng mad whe
she was convinced that her childreI
+. were drowned There were simila
distressing incidents by the score, tn
most awful of all occurring when tn
/ Utopia, with a final lurch, sank wit
}. her human freight clinging about he
s. and drew hundreds of living person
down with her. Many of those VIII
i, sprang into the sea as they saw tn
u steamship could not float many me
ments longer were then also draw
down in the awful whirlpool caused b
T the Utopia's disappearance. Som
came to the surface again for fey
moments before sinking finally in thei
watery tombs. Others more lucky
were able to cling to pieces of wreck
age, floating sparS, oars, cratingS
batchways. boats. life belts, ETC., an
h this kept them above water until res
] cued by the war ships boats. But a
o usual in such cases the weaker SUI
cumb more rapidly. Shrieking, pray
ing women sank to rise no more wit
= their terrified offspring clasped to thei
: breasts. Children chung to their PAL
tnts s.. perately that in severe
cases they caused death 10 both wher
/; they might have escaped had bette
!, Judgment been used. At $3.50 p. N.
u wac announced that the official repoI
of the number of persons on board til
Utopia shows that when she left M
Piles she had $50 souls on board incluG
e ing passengers and crew. Of this mum
y Der only 81 have been saved, Thu
$50 of the passengers and crew al
drowned or missing.