The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1913-10-11

LIVERPOOL, Oct. 11.-One hun
dred and thirty-siX lives were lost
when the Volturno bound from Rot
terdam to New York burned at sea.
accor ling to latest revised reports.
Most of these were Dutch immigrants,
bound for New York The accident
occurred at midnight in mid-ocean
while a terrific storm ragged.
A thrilling story OF the final hour
of the liner Volturno, which was
burned in mid-Atlantic was CLEANED
from the following wireless message
from Captain Barr of the Carmania:
"On Thursday. while making our
way through a gale we picked up this
S. o. S. call: Come quick, ship afire.
We are doomed The extra stokers
were ordered into the engine room
and then began a wild race of seventy
eight miles to the ill-fated ship. In
spite of the high wind and rolling seas
the Carmania worked up to a speed
of over 20 knots an hour.
Steamer in Flames.
Part of the time the spinning pro-
pellers were completely out of the
water as the waves rose and fell
hours later we could see the VOlturno
wrapped in flames, smoke and fog.
rolling in the heavy seas. In the
meantime our wireless operator had
kept up an incessant call. notifying
all liners within range. The Nolturno
was a mass of flames. from her bow
to the waist She was pitching and
rolling drunkedly.
"Huddled in the stern of the vessel.
in suspended life boats, which they
had been unable to launch, were a
number of passengers. The wind
lashed the heat and smoke about
them There were a number of wo-
men and children in the boats Alter
nately the passengers wept, prayed or
shouted.
shortly after we arrived other lin
ers came up. The seas were very
high and a treacherous wind made 1t
dangerous to venture too near to the
burning ship. That was the situation
when darkness settled. The Carmania
and the other liners turned their
flashlights on the Volturno TO keep
watch for passengers who leaped or
were thrown by the violent rolling OF
the ship. By midnight most of the
inflamable material had been consum-
ed. At daybreak the flames had part
" died out. Immediately the work of
rescue began.
Crew Helpless.
Life boat after life boat, manned
by sturdy fellows prepared 10 risk
their lives for the helpless ones on the
Volturno.
When the fire was discovered the
crew tried to fight ii, but they were
hampered by the storm and the fact
l. Il Il
way before being found. The passen-
gers were notified of the danger but
Captain Inch feared to send them ov-
erboard in the small boats because OF
the high seas"
The steamship Volturno Of the Ur-
anium line bound from Rotterdam to
Halifax with hundreds Of immigrants
on board has been burned at sea in
a gale with heavy loss of life.
The VoIturno disaster was an echo
of the Titanic tragedy. Radiograms
from the rescue ships said that the
number of lifeboats on the Volturno
was insufficient to accommodate the
passengers and crew.
The disaster occurred in latitude
1925 north. longitude 34.33 west, or
y the middle of the North Atlantic
ocean. The scene of the tragedy was
ABOUT l,oVo mites east III IlduldA.
First Word.
The following wireless message
from the Carmania gave the first no
tice of the disaster:
Steamer Volturno, bound from Rot
terdam for Halifax and New York with
500 immigrants on board. afire and
abandoned Friday night in latitude
hundred and thirty-six passengers
4825 north, longitude 3433 west
The Carmania was the first liner to
pick up the IS o S" calls which the
operator on the Volturno was franti-
cally sending out. The Carmania i'm
mediately repeated the calls to other
vessels giving the position OF the Vol
turno.
Nine other transatlantic liners
were within wireless range and sped
toward the burning ship. The race
was a thrilling one. 4 gale was sweep