The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1911-09-29
WE'RE FOUR EXPLOSIONS.
Further Details Of How French War
ship Was Blown to Fragments.

Further Details OF How French War
ship Was Blown to Fragments.
Toulon, Sept. 25.-An appalling ma
val disaster attended with enormous
loss of life occurred at daylight to-
day when the battleship Liberte blew
up in this harbor. The death loss is
variously estimated from $50 to 500
or more. The killed include officers
and men of the Liberte, and also
large number of those from nearby
warships.
Ship Torn to Fragments.
The first alarm of fire was sounded
shortly after o'clock This was fol-
lowed by four successive explosions
of increasing intensity as the fire
neared the powder magazines, when
at 5:35 a deafening explosion literally
tore the great warship to pieces and
sent her to the bottom, a mass of
twisted wreckage.
Bodies High in the Air.
The fierce explosion was followed
by great fissures which opened in the
steel armor and framework of the
warship. A piece of armor plate was
hurled against the cruiser Repunlique
with great force, damaging her plates.
Scores of dead bodies were hurled
high into the air with huge fragments
of framework, armor, bursting shells
and the suffocating smoke from the
exploded magazines.
Men Stick to the Ship.
On the first explosion the men
rushed from their quarters and hun
dreds sought safety in springing over
board. But the great body of men,
officers and the crew, remained on
the ship and went to death as the cul-
minating explosion tore the ship into
fragments. One report says the ship
broke in two in the middle as 1t
sank. Another report says that be-
fore she took her final plunge several
of her guns discharged a requiem
salute.
The Liberte was anchored in the
roadstead, where she has been since
the review of the fleet by President
Fallieries on Sept. A. Particular sig
nificance was attached to the review,
the most imposing in the history Of
the French navy, as it was made on
the very day that France commune
Gated to Germany the terms on which
the republic offered a settlement of
the Moroccan dispute with Germany.
Following the review the fleet re-
sumed the autumn maneuvers and
gun practice. On Sept. 20 the ar
mored cruiser Gloire was engaged in
10 bnr
as a projectile was being inserted in
the breech. One gunner was killed
and thirteen men injured.
Have Little Warning.
Today's disaster came with little
warning The fire was discovered
| about o'clock and a signal sounded
| throughout the vessel summoning the
| crew to fire quarters. Orders were
given to flood the decks and inrush-
ing waters failed to check the rapidly
spreading flames.
Smoke poured from the warship
| and attracted the attention of the
| other ships in the squadron, which
hurriedly dispatched boats with men
and fire apparatus to the aid of their
| sister ship. Presently, minor explo-
| sions began within the Liberte and
many seamen flung themselves over
board.
Cries of save yourselves" fire
near magazines" could be heard ring
| ing across the water in the stiffness
of the clear morning.
Scores Leap Overheard.
| From every side scores of sailors
leaped overheard and swan frantical-
ly for safety but scarsely more than
| 100 had plunged into the water before
the series of detonations could be
heard in a terrific explosion that
seemed to tear out the side of the
great steel vessel which swayed over
to one side and sank.
| In a moment dead bodies and debris
were floating about in the disturbed
waters that splashed around the up
per works. In a wide circle around
the spot where the craft had floated
so proudly few minutes before, the
seamen who escaped death were strug-
Cling desperately and small boats
were picking up as many as they
could reach.
| Guns Salute AS Ship Sinks.
AS the battleship went down several
of the guns discharged requiem sa-
lutes.
| The Liberte had a compliment of
| 700 men. OF these 40 were away on
shore leave, so that the $50 were
aboard when the fire broke out.
Rough estimates place the number of
those who jumped overheard some
where between 100 and 200.
The rumble of the explosion was
heard through the city and immense
i nrnrr,Ac ~ he .,nnrln o. III 10