Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-08-06
STEAMER ON ROCKS
Italian Ship sirio Sinks OF Island Near
Cape FalOs,
THREE HUNDRED PERSONS DROWNED
Victims Are Mostly italians and spaniSrd
Bound for South America
BRAZILIAN ARCHBISHOP AMONG THE LOST
Number Of Fishermen Drowned While At
ARCHBISHOP AMONG THE LOST
Number Of Fishermen Drowned While At
tempting to Rescue Passengers.
CAPTAIN OF SHIP COMMITS SUICIDE
He Says Dissster was Due to His own
Imprudenc - Survivors Are
in a Most DepIorabIe
Condition.

CARTAGENA, Spain Aug. s.-A terrible
marine disaster occurred last evening OF
Cape Palos The Italian steamship sirio
from Genoa for Barcelonis- CsdiH, Monte
video and Buenos Ayres. with about 80
persons on board was wrecked of Hermi-
gas island.
Three hundred immigrants, most of them
Italians and spanards, we're drowned
The captain of the steamer committed
suicide
The Bishop of San Pedro, Brasil also
was lost and It is reported that another
bishop is among the missing.
The remainder OF the passengers and
the officers ana crew got away in the
boats or were rescued by means OF
sent to them from the shore.
number of fishermen who mad
tempts at rescue were drowned.
Those rescued from the vessel ar
at Cape Palos in a pitiable con
being without food or clothing.
Vessel Strikes Reef,
The Sirio struck rocky reef, kr
Bajos Hormigas, and sank soor
stern first. Hormigas island lie
two and a half miles to the eastV
Cape Palos.
The sirio was owned by the Navigaz
| Italiana of Genoa.
Before he committed suicide, the captain
declared the steamer had 645 passengers
on board and that the crew num-
bered 127 men. The Siris had $40 passen-
gers when leaving Genoa, but addi-
tional Spanish passengers were taken on
board at Barcelona, where the vessel
touched n few hours before the disaster.
| The disaster occurred at 3 o'clock yester-
day afternoon. The steamer was thread
| ing a difficult passage through the Hormi-
gas group, where the Bajos Hormigas reef
/ is a continual menace TO navigation. The
vessel began TO settle rapidly Immediately
! after 1t struck and a terrible scene OF
confusion and panic ensued on board. The
| fishermen along the coast sought to rem
I der every assistance In their power ana
! sent out boats which brought many sur
! vivors ashore. Most oi the officers and
crew of the Sirio are among the saved,
Condition of Survivors Deplorsble.
The survivors have gone into camp on
the main square of the town at Cape
Paios Here, narrowing scenes are en-
acted as the stricken families anxiously
! seek beloved members among the rescued.
A mother who lost her three children
went insane. The doctor of the Sirio gave
up his wife and child as lost but they
were finally brought in by one OF the res
! cuing boats, and the scene as this family
was reunited was most affecting. One
Of the boats sent out by the fishermen
brought in twenty-four passengers.
The condition of the survivors Is most
deplorable. They have lost everything
and are without money, food or clothing.
The maritime authorities of Cartagena
have dispatched a tug TO the scene carry
ing relief supplies. The buildings of a
circus and the poor house are being used
J as temporary quarters for the survivors.
The latest reports from the cape say
that three boats have just brought in
number OF rescued.
An additional sadness is added to the
| catastrophe owing to the fact that a num-
ber Of fishermen who were conducting res
| cuing operations we're drowned in conse-
quence of the overturning of a boat.
The captain of the Sirio. just before he
killed himself, attributed the wreck to his
own imprudence.
The Sirio left Genoa August 4