Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1913-10-16
TEN VESSELS RESPOND
TO CALLS BY WIRELESS
Steamship Carmania Which Heard
Calls When rs Miles Distant Is
First on Scene But Owing to Ter
rifle Waves is Unable to Do Any
thing to Rescue Endangered Ones.

| FlSHGUARD, Eng, Oct. 11.-Fire
| in a raging storm in mid-Atlantic on
| Thursday destroyed the liner Vol
turno on her voyage from Rotterdam
to New York with a loss of 1876 of her
passengers and crew. Ten other
liners called by wireless to the res
cue were standing by impotent to
avert the tragedy owing to the noun
| famous seas.
Again the wireless played a lead
| ing part in the drama and by its
means and through the heroism of
| those who responded to the call. the
lives of 521 of those on board the
ship were saved.
Captain Barr, of the Carmania re-
eeiyed the distress call of the Vol
turno when rs miles distant in lati-
tude east 4S rs; longitude "a 33
West The Carmania crowded on
full steam and with extra stokers
made over 20 knots an hour in the
teeth of the gate.
Ship Burning Fiercely.
| When the Carmania reached the
Vicinity of the Volturno at noon, she
/, found the forward end of the dis
tressed vessel burning furiously. The
flaming ship at the same time was
rolling heavily while her propellers
wers fouled with boats tackle used
in lowering her six life boats II
was learned by the captain of the
| Carmania that two only out of six
life boats had succeeded in getting
safely away from the Volturno. The
other four, crowded from stem to
stern with passengers and members
of the crew had been smashed against
the side of the vessel and all their
occupants thrown into the sea and
drowned.
In spite of the terrific gale raging.
when she arrived near the Nolturnu
the captain of the Carmania had one
of his kfe boats lowered to proceed
to the Volturno to help in the res
cue. The boat was launched with
much difficulty for even on the lee
side of the Carmania the sea was
terribly rough and it was only by ex-
| traordinary efforts that the small
craft was prevented from being
smashed as she left the side OF the
ship. The .Carmania life boat in
charge of First Officer Gardiner.
made a gallant but futile attempt to
get alongside the doomed Volturno.
Sets Close to Doomed Vessel
Capt Barr, of the Carmania, then
Unanswered his big vessel very. close
! to the. volturno and finally got the
Carmania's bow within a hundred,
feet of the Volturno's stern. 1t was
found impossible however to cast a
line on board the Volturno or to get
anybody off her.
1t was a terrifying sight for the
passengers and crew of the Carmania
to see so close to them the hundreds
of passengers including many women
and children in horror stricken fear
on the decks of the Volturno and yet
be unable to help them.
Most of the passengers got into the
Volturno life boats but hundred of
them had gathered at the after end
of the burning vessel whose crew at
the same time continued in vain to
fight the fire at her worward end
Capt. Barr, of the Carmania in
the meanwhile kept his wireless APP
paratus at work communicating WITH
all the vessels within the radius Of
his instrument. AT four O'Clock in
the afternoon the Grosser Kurfuerst
and the Seydlitz came in sight and
these two We're joined later in the
afternoon by the Kroonland, Devon
ian, Rapahanoek, Minneapolis, La
| Touraine and the Asian.
Gale Moderates.
The gate moderated slightly to-
ward night and each of the succoring
ships as soon as it was possible to do
so put out boats from the davits and
lowered them to the sea. The waves
however were so high that although
the small crafts made some progress
in the direction of the Volturno it
was impossible for them to get along
side and they returned to their ships
in most cases doing this with the
greatest difficulty owing to the over