The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1916-03-03
MALOJA WAS SISTER SHIP OF
PERSIA, .ToRPEDoED DEC. 80
--CARRiED 119 PASSENGERS
AND CREW OF 200.
THOUSANDS SEE SINKING;
RESCUE SHIP is STRICKEN
Inhabitants Of English City Witness
Rescue Work From Shore-Pas-
sengers on Board lll-fated Vessel
Remain Calm Until End
Tanker Empress Goes Down.

London, Feb. 29.-One hundred and
sixty-nine persons, including SIS pas
sengers, are missing and probably lost
their lives when the Peninsular &
Oriental liner Maloja, sister ship of
the torpedoed liner Persia, struck a
mine off Dover and went to the bottom.
Official figures show the Maloja carried
429 persons, including 10 passengers,
and only 260 have been accounted for.
The Maloja, sister ship of the Per.
STA torpedoed and sunk off Crete, De-
cember 80, with loss of 1886 lives,
left Tilbury Saturday for Bombay,
with mails, 119 passengers of all class
es aboard, and crew numbering
about 200, most of them Lascars 9th.
er passengers were to join the ship
at Marseilles. ri
High seas were running, and the
captain, realizing that great damage
had been done to the after part of his
vessel, tried to run her aground, but
the engine room was swamped and the
ship became unmanageable.
The plight of the vessel was OBJ
served and dozens Of craft went at
full speed to her rescue.
Rescue Ship Sunk.
One of them, the British tanker EN-
press of Fort William, 2,18O tons,
struck another mine and sank nearby.
Aboard the Maloja everything pos
sible was done to get the passengers
and crew off. All the boats had al
ready been swung out before she
struck, as a precaution against acct
dent and those aboard had sufficient
time to put on left belts, instructions
in the use of which had been given
the previous night. But several per.
sons leaped into the water and were
picked up by the surrounding craft. 1t
was at first thought that all lad been
saved, but, later, bodies were washed
ashore and their number was gradual.
ly added to during the day.
Only Measre Details.
Owing to the fact that Dover is un.
der strict military law, it was impos.
sible to obtain only meagre details
from the rescued. Captain C. Irving
ooAo thot bOIh pdoSCh6ClS anu CISW
behaved splendidly. The passengers
for the most part were British Off
Gals in the Indian service, the most
prominent being Judge Oldfield of the
Indian high court.
Only one of the crew of the EN-
press Of Fort William was drowned.
1t was about 1890 a. m. that the
disaster occurred. Children were
playing on the deck and most of the
passengers were carrying life belts.
Suddenly terrific explosion blew in
the side of the second saloon and 20
minutes later the Maloja sank.
Several children were blown to
pieces and the deck was covered with
wreckage and wounded, but there was
no sign Of a panic. The heavy sea
made the rescue work difficult.
The majority of those saved were
on RATS, of which the ship carried a
large number. Most of the women and
children lost their lives owing to the
fact that one boat already in the wa
ter drifted under another which was
being lowered, and capsized.
The captain was thrown into the
water by the last lurch of the ship.
Thousands Of the inhabitants of
Dover witnessed the rescue work from
shore. A considerable number ac-
tually saw the blowing of the ship,
while almost the entire population
reached the water front before the YES
sci went down.