Mower County transcript., 1903-06-10
HEAVY LOSS OF LIFE n UJNDRED ARE DEAD
s.TE,,.al6L Z STEAMBOAT DISASTER
OCCURS NEAR TttE PORT OF 5s.
MARsE LIES, IA RAM cE.

+ II
Steamer 4lnsulaire# Crashes into. the u
s Dan and the Latter8Is Sc Bad! Dam
aged She Sinks Before Reaching
shore-Nearby Vessels Manage e
Save About Halt Of the Passengers
on the III Fated Ship. e .#
Marseilles, June s.A terrible ship
ping disaster occurred little dis
tance from this port at noon Sunday
when two passenger steamers the in
sulaire and the Liban, both belonging
to the Fraissenet Steamship company
Of Marseilles. came into collision. The
Liban sank and over 100 OF her pas.
sengers and crew persisted. 2!s. 5.. .sa :s
The steamer Liban left Marseilles
Sunday morning on her regular passen.
ger trip to Bastia, Corsica. and was
run down and sunk by the Insulaire
off the Marie island. The collision
was witnessed from the pilot boat
Blechamp, which was about two miles
distant. The ,Blechamp Immediately
repaired to the spot to render as
sistance. &.,@F. &"s 4z# .%
I The force of the collision had cut a
great hole in the side of the Liban,
and she already was taking water
rapidly. Her captain saw the only
chance was to run the steamer
aground and the Liban was headed
full speed for the shore. But within
seventeen minutes of the collision,
and while still in deep water, the fore
part: of the steamer plunged beneath
the waves and few minutes later
she had entirely disappeared. ,5-
In the meantime the Blechamp, the
steamer Balkan, also belonging to the
fralssenet company, and other YES
sells had drawn near the sinking ship
and were making desperate efforts to
rescue those on board. The Blechamp
picked up forty persons, many OF
whom were at the point of exhaustion.
The Balkan rescued thirty-seven pas:
sengers, and up to the present it is
known that jim addition to the passen
gers seventeen of the crew were also
saved. s.-. l.. ~. @-... =
Scene Was Terrible.
: Officers of the steamer Balkan de-
scribed the scene just before the Ii
ban disappeared asa terrible one AS
the vessel was sinking she was in.
cllned to such an angle that her masts
struck the water, causing an eddy
which made the work of rescue most
difficult. ~..>. <..
A mass of human beings were cling
ing to the laundering vessel and ut.
tering despairing cries as she went
down. At the same time the boilers
exploded, intensifying { the horrors
For few moments the victims were
seen struggling in the sea; then the
waves closed over them and all was
silent. OF about 200 passengers who
were aboard the Ljban it is feared
that at least half were drowned. .s.&
The Balkan launched three boats
and the other vessels did all possible
to save the victims in the short time
that elapsed between the time of tht>
collision and the sinking OF the Liban
Up to S o'clock Sunday afternoon
thirty bodies had been recovered.
The list OF passengers on board tn
Lfban has not been issued, the Of
fees Of the company being closed, but
1t is believed that more than 24O per
sons embarked at this port.
It is said the collision was due to
the following circumstances:
The Liban was putting ont to sea
inst as the steamer Insulaire was
making for the harbor. Marie island
which lies off the entrance to the
port. hid the vessels from each other
until it was too late to avoid a colli-
sion, ',-,.