New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-11-04
TWO DROWN WHEN TUG
SUDDENLY OVERTURNS
Five Others Scramble for Lives
as Stout Craft CapSizeS at
Jersey City Pier.
BUNKERS BEING FILLED
Load Supposed to Have Shifted
Divers Recover Bodies
After Searchlight Res
cue Attempt.

two men were drowned and nNe
others had narrow escapes from sim
liar death early yesterday morning
when the big Lehigh Valley Raiirodu
tug Gcnesee, being loaded with coal DIT
her pier. at Johnson avenue jersey
CIV suddenly turned turtle and sank
10 the bottom of the river. The capslZ-
ing is believed to have been due 10 the
fact that the coal with which she was
being laden was loaded too much on
one side. The bodies of the drowned
men were recovered by divers
The Genesee. 96-foot boat, OF all
steel construction, had been taxing OH
coal for several hours, and her bunKers
were almost full at the time or the ac-
cident Charles Moore, her captain
went on shore about o'clock, leaving
a crew Of seven men on board -Four
OF these men were helping I'LL the
bunkers, passing the coal from d
lighter alongside into the hold.
Fred Wolf, of Highland Park, n. D..
the engineer, and George FonicK' Oh
Norris street, Jersey City, his fireman.
were down in the engine room. A man
named Tusicano, the steward, was also
below decks when the boat capsized'
Just after one Of the big steel buckets
had dumped its cargo of coal into one
Of the bunkers on tie port side OF 'he
tug there was a sudden lurch, causing
the bulk OF the coal on deck and in the
hunkers to shift suddenly. This threw
almost the entire weight Of the many
tons Of coal to the left side OF the GEN.
esee and the boat turned completely
bottom up, as a tin can might were a
heavy stone to be placed on one side OF
IL The thing happened so quickly and
uoiselessly that the men on the deck
had time only to make wild scramble
for the pier flooring, yelling for their
comrades in the hold to run for their
lives.
Wolf and Fonick however, were
asleep in their hunks and were caught
ike rats in trap.
The steward, who had been in the
galley when the shifting coal and in
rushing water warned him by their
unirous roar, ran up on deck, but was
caught in the whirlpool Of water caused
lv the sinking boat and sucked be-
Meath the surface. When he came up
rzain. the four members of the crew
standing on the pier threw him rope
and pulled him to safety.
The tug sank in less than two
minutes. only her funnel showing
above the water. The survivors
quickly procured rowboats and piled
above the submerged tug for more
than an hour, hoping TO save Wolf and
FouiCk. Searchlights were also called
into use and the search for the bodies
continued until daylight. When it was
All but certain that the two men had
been caught in the hold of the Gcnesee,
divers were summoned, and after an
hours hard work they succeeded in
finding thebodies Of the drowned men.
Both were in their hunks, the position
Of the bodies indicating that they had
made frantic efforts to escape.
Captain Moore, who was at the dock
soon after the sinking of his boat, said
the accident was undoubtedly due to
loading the Genesee improperly. He
said the tug had stout steel hull, and
that she was watertight Efforts to
raise the boat will be made to-day