The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1911-09-29
THE LiBERTE is DESTROYED
.E.s WHEN MAGAZINES ARE
t.|.9.-.. BLOWN UP.
SEVERAL HUNDRED KILLED
Was Finest Ship in the French Navy
One Hundred Men From
Nearby Ships Lost in
H!b5 f@ Making RescucS.

FToulon, France.--Fire broke out in
the ammunition hold of the battle
ship Liberte, counted one of the finest
vessels in the French navy, and the
explosions which followed wrecked
the great ship and killed more than
half of the crew Of 1913 officers and
men. About 100 men from the other war;
ships. which had been sent to help *
tinguish the fire, disappeared. The
Democrat lost twenty dead and fifty
injured. A piece Of armor plate blown
from the Liberte struck the Repub-
lique on theport side with great force,
damaging her plates.
The fire was discovered at 5 a. III.
AT first it did not appear to be serious.
but III some name it gained a quick
advantage over the squad of sailors
sent to eXtinguish it, and suddenly.
without warning, it reached the maya
zines, which had not been flooded on
account of the apparently trihing ma
ture Of the blaze.
The froce of the explosions was ter
rife. They shook the vessel fore and
aft, each one seemingly stronger than
that preceding. opening up great fis-
sures in the armor and framework
of the vessel. The vessel Immediately
became a mass of fire and smoke and
soon, almost demolished by the ter
rife detonations, sank to the bottom
of Toulon harbor.
AT an early hour unofficial estimates
of the number OF dead ran as high as
800. Estimates by naval men varied
widely, but there was no doubt that
loss Of life was more than 500. Scores
Of the Gamer died in their berthS.
while a few dozen saved themselves by
jumping overheard. Many Of those in
jured escaped into the water and were
drowned before the boats from the
other ships in the roadsted could
reach them.
Two hundred of the crew escaped
death, owing to the fact that they
were ashore on leave. Commander
Paures, a brother of the socialist
deputy, was not on board.
The carnage in the explosions was
far worse than could ever have oc-
CURED in an actual naval engagemAt.
L lic ulSI CRASH came W1eT the tl6~
was for the most part dispersed in
various sections of the vessel. They
We're hurled TO death without warning
of their danger. Scores of bodies
We're hurled high into the air, accom-
panied by great fragments of frame
work, armor, bursting shells and the
binding, suffocating smoke OF the pow
der. Men below who had not yet been
awakened, We're killed as they slept.
Others, awakened by the explosion,
started to jump overheard and we're
caught by the second defamation. The
was panicstricken land rushed
wildly about, cropping through the
binding smoke in which many fell
unconscious from suffocation.
There were many vessels in the har-
Dor at the time, including several
which have been ~maneuvering here
since the first of the month. The
first explosion brought a quick re-
from the nearby men of war
and from the shore, Dozens of boats
put off and picked up survivors and
floating bodies.
There We're three tremendous eXplo-
sions in quick succession after the fire
reached the magazines. One hundred
saved themselves by jumping and
others would have escaped but tor the
discipline which held them at their
posts.
At the first explosion the men below
suddenly awakened, tumbled from
their berths and, rushing to the sides
OF the vessel, were throwing them
selves overheard when an order cali
ing them to their stations rang out
and held TO their death those who had
already escaped.
The battleship Liberte was built
about five years ago and was a sister
ship of the Nerite, which met with mis-.
fortune at the maneuvers a few DAYS
going on the rocks and suffering 4
much damage before being pulled off. =
The Liberte was of about $4,000 tons
and carried four twelve
inch guns and ten eight-inch guns. She
had a horse power of 5000 and a
speed of eighteen knots.