The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1914-06-04
934 DIE IN SHIPWRECK
BIG STEAMER RAMMED BY COL
LIER FRIDAY.
Appalling Disaster On St. Lawrence
River in Canada.-Eely
Few Saved.

fifteen minutes after being rammed
amidships in the upper reaches of the
St. Lawrence River early to-day, the
Canadian Pacific Liner Empress of
Ireland carried down with her more
than 900 of her passengers and crew.
Of the 1857 persons on board the
liner only 433 are known to have
been saved, making the probable
death list 934.
Looming up through the river
mists, as the Empress of Ireland was
lying to-, waiting for the fog to lift or
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 to the stern.
The crash occurred not far from
the shore off Father Point, $50 miles
from Quebec, which the Empress of
Ireland left yesterday afternoon
bound for Liverpool, and ten miles
from this point on the St. Lawrence.
In reality, therefore, although the
liner was heading for the sea and
the collier coming in from it, the
disaster was not one of the ocean
but of theriver. Unlike the Titanic's
victims, th9.Empress of Ireiand's lost
their lives within sight of shore-in
land,ocked waters.
IS. O. S." Call Sounded.
Immediately the ships crew recov-
cred from the shock of the collision,
and it was seen that the liner had
received 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 set out to the rescue. SO
deep Mas the hurt of the Empress,
however, and so fast the thrush OF
waters that long before either of the
rescue boats could reach the scene
the liner had gone down. Only float
ing wreckage and few lifeboats
and RATS from the steamer, buoylng
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 Stors-
tad's impact with her or had been
forced from exposure in the ice-chlll-
ed waters to loose their hold on bits
of wreckage and had drowned.
Only few persons were picked up
by the Storstad, which was badly
crippled herself, and these were
brought here by the collier, together
with those saved by the Eureka and
|, Lady Evelyn. twenty-five OF the
rescued died from injury or expos
ure.
Sent to Quebec.
The others, most of whom had
jumped into the boats or plunged
into the water from the sinking liner
scantily clad, were given such cloth
ing as the town could supply, and
later those that could travel were
placed on board a train and started
for Quebec, where they arrived to-
night.
Accounts agree that in the brlef
space of time-not more than four
teen minutes-between the SHOCK OF
the collision and the sinking of the
liner there was little chance for sys-
tematic marshalling of the passeng-
ers. Everything indicates that hun
dreds probably never reached the
decks. Few women were among the
saved, not more than a dozen, the
lists make it appear.
"The stewards did not have time
to rouse the people from their
berths," one survivor told Capt. Boil
linger, of the rescue ship Eureka.
Those who heard the frenzled
calls of the officers for the passeng-
ers to hurry on deck rushed up, piled
into the boats, which were rapidly
lowered, and rowed away. Many
who waited to dress were drowned.
Explosion Adds to Horror.
The horror of the interval during
the time the Empress of Ireland was
rapidly filling and the frightened
.throngs on board her were hurrylng
every effort to escape before she
sank, was added to by an explosion,
probably caused by the water reach
ing the boilers, bulged the liners
sides and catapulted persons from
her decks out into the sea.
The ships heavy list as water
poured in made the work of launch
ing boats increasingly difficult,
and when she sank scores still left
-, b,, 5oo1, ,voro carried down On1v