The Mobridge news. [volume] (Mobridge, Walworth Co., S.D.) 190?-1917, 1914-06-05
EMPRESS OF IRELAND SANK
WITHIN FIFTEEN MINUTES
AFTER BEING BANNED
BY COLLIER.
OF 1887 ON CANADIAN
PACIFIC SHIP, 433 SAVED
Hundreds Did Not Even Have Time
to Get on Deck and Possibly
Never Realized What Had
happened-Within Sight of
Land in ST. Lawrence.

Rimouski, Que, June 1-Sinking in
9. feet of water within - minutes aft
er being rammed amidships in the up
per reaches OF the St. Lawrence river,
the Canadian Pacific liner Empress of
Ireland carried down with her more
than 900 OF her passengers and crew.
or the 1887 persons on board the
liner only 433 are known to have been
saved, making the probable death list
954.
Looming up through the river mists
as the Empress of Ireland was lying
to, waiting for the fog to lift or day
to break, the Danish collier Storstad
crashed bow on into the side of the big
Canadian liner, striking her about
midway of her length and ripping her
side open clear to the stern.
Crash Close to Shore.
The crash occurred not far from the
shore off Father Point, $50 miles from
Quebec, which the Empress of Ireland
left Thursday afternoon bound for
Liverpool, and ten miles from this
HOBlb III lIlt Dl. 20 W ItllCt. III reality
therefore although the liner was head
Ing for the sea and the collier coming
I'm from it, the disaster was not one
of the ocean but of the river.
Unlike the Titanic's victims, the
Empress of Ireland's lost their lives
within sight of shore-in land-locked
waters.
S. o. S. Calls Sounded.
Immediately the ships crew recov-
cred from the shock of the collision
and it vas seen that the liner had re-
ceived a vital blow, a wireless IS. O..
s." call was sounded.
The hurried appeal was picked up
by the government mail tender Lady
Evelyn here and the government pilot
boat Eureka at Father Point and both
at once set out to the rescue. So deep
was the hurt of the Empress, however,
and so fast the thrush of water, that
long before either of the rescue boats
could reach the scene, the liner had
gone done.
But Few Afoat.
IN HodtiIIS WltthdSc anu a lew
life boats and RATS from the steamer,
buoying up less than a third of those
who had set sail on her, were to be
found.
The rest had sunk with the liner,
had been crushed to death in the Stor-
forced from exhaustion and exposure
in the ice-chilled northern waters to
loose their hold on bits of wreckage
that had supported them and had
drowned.
Only a few persons were picked up
by the Storstad, which was badly Grip
pied herself by the collision, and these
were brought here by the collier, to-
gether with those saved by the Eureka
and the Lady Evelyn.
Twenty-Five Rescued Die.
twenty-five of the rescued died from
Injury or exposure. The others, most
of whom had jumped in the boats or
plunged into the water from the sink
ing liner ~scantily clad, were freely
given such clothing as the town could
supply, and later those that were veil
able TO travel were placed on board a
train and started for Quebec, where
they arrived last night.
Accounts agree that in the brief
space of time-not more than IA min
utes-between the shock of the COLI
sion and the sinking of the liner, there
a little chance for systematic mar
shalling of the passengers. Indeed,
everything indicates that hundreds of
those on the steamer probably never
reached the decks. Very few women
were among the saved, not more than
q dozen, the lists make it appear.
All Happened Very Quickly.
ut all happened so quickly that we