Birmingham age-herald., 1895-07-22
THAT MARINE HORROR.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS OF THE COLLISION
The Total Life Loss Is 148-Fourteen of the Crew and Thirty Passengers
 Saved.

La Spezzia, Italy, July 21.--A terrible accident, resulting in the loss of 14S lives, occurred near the mouth of the gulf of Spezzia today. At 1:30 o'clock this morn
 ing the steamers Ortigia and Maria P. ran into each other and the latter ves- sel was so badly damaged that she sank in a very short time. The Maria P. had on board, in addition to her crew, IFS passengers, bound from Naples for the
 river Platte, by far the larger part of
 whom were emigrants. The night was pitch-dark when the collision occurred, and the scene on board the sinking ship almost defieS description. Most Of the passengers were asleep in their hunks at
 the time and were awakened by the
 crashing of the steamers plates, deck
 beams and deck blanks. They were pan
 ic-stricken and rushed pell mell on deck.
 where they ran hither and thither, call ing upon the saints to save them.
 From the reports of the disaster re- ceived here it Is impossible to determine whether any attempt was made by the Maria P. to clear away and launch her small boats and attempt to rescue the passengers, but judging from the ac- counts given by the excited survivors it is surmised that the steamer went down too quickly to allow of this being done, though one boat got away. The black ness of the night added to the terror of
  some of the passengers craZed with fear, jumped overheard.
 The force of the collision was terrific The Ortigia struck the Maria P. squarely on the starboard side and her stem pen penetrated the ill-fated steamer for a distance of Is feet When she backed out a great volume of water poured through the orifice and the vessel began almost immediately to settle.
 No mention is made of the Ortigia lowering her boats to attempt to rescue the imperilled people on the Maria P. Whether the former vessel was damaged or not is not known. The survivors are in such a mental condition that it is im- possible as yet to get any correct story from them, but from the statements of
 some of the crews it appears the disaster was the fault of the Ortigia The crew of the Maria P. numbered seventeen. Of this number fourteen were saved in the boat that cleared the ship. This boat also saved the thirty passengers who es- capped drowning. The Ortigia on her pre- vious voyage collided in this same spot | with French steamer and this fact adds strength to the belief that she was re- sponsible for this mornings disaster. Admiral Norma, minister of marine, has ordered an investigation to be made of the affair to place the responsibility. The collision occurred off Isola del Tino. The Ortigia left Genoa at 9 o'clock last night. The Maria P. was bound for Ge-
 noa. where the emigrants on board her were to have been trans-shipped to the steamer Sud America, which was to con vey them to the river Platte.
 It was learned this afternoon that the lookout man on the Ortgia saw nothing of the other steamer until it was too late to avert a collision. The officers of the Ortigia say that no boats were lowered l by the Maria P. and that their vessel | saved all the survivors. The Ortigia re- mained in the vicinity of the accident for several hours. hoping that she might be | able to rescue others. The bows of the | Ortigia have in them rent four yards | long just above the water line.
 Admiral Morina, minister of marine, | announced the disaster to the chamber | of deputies this afternoon, and the news created deep impression. Many of the deputies expressed sympathy with the | families of the victims.
 Captain Ferrera was the master of the | Maria P. Later information is to the | effect that all of her passengers were | emiPrants