Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-09-12
EIGHTY DROWN AS
AAMM0N!A SINKS
Scenes Of Horror Witnessed i
When German Steamer
Founders Off vigo
LAST OF PASSENGERS LOST
BY Associated Press

SOUTHAMPTON. Eng. Sept. 12.-The
loss OF life in the laundering OF the
German steamship Hammonia off Nigo.
Spain, last Saturday will probably
never be definitely known. The pas
oenger list was not saved. and the total
OF those on board can only be approxi-
mated.
! Captain Alfred Hoefer. commander
Of the Hammonia. asserts that only ff-
teen persons are missing out of total
of 5J7. The crew, he believes. num-
bered 192 and the passengers 3S5.
Captain Day, commanding the steam
ship Kinfanns Castle. which brought
1856 survivors here, says he saw pos
sibly eighty drowning. while others
place the death list as high as 80.
One reason why the number lost will
probably never be known is that most of
the passengers were Spanish or Cuban
Norkmen, whom il will be impossible
70 trace.
During his fifty years at sea. in
which be has saved four ships and their
crews. Captain Day told the Associated
Press he never witnessed scenes of hor-
ror equal to those OF Saturday.
"When we received the s, o s on
Saturday morning" he said, I'VE hur.
ricd to the scene and stood for several
hours until told that we were not
Needed. Then. when resctting our
course late in the afternoon. we got a
second call and hurried back in heavy
sea. We saw the Hammonia on her
side, sinking. with the ocean full Of
life RATS and overturned boats, to which
drowning men. women and children
were clinging. We got out eight boats.
and there was a great rush among the
''They brought on board 3S5 per-
sons. One of our boats delivered seven
to the City of Valencia another eighty.
eight were rescued by the Euclid and
possibly sixty by the Tudor Prince. II
there were any more they were lost.
Captain Hoefer, who formerly COM
nanded the liner Imperator. said he
had never suffered an accident. Then,
with lips quivering:
when We left Nigo,' he continued
''strong cross winds began to blow and
We slowed down. Then l found the ship
leaking and put her head to the storm,
but the water kept creeping upward.
! sounded vainly to ascertain the
whereabouts of the leak. and set the
pumps working at 5000 tons to the
hour.
81 did not dream that such a stout
ship could be in danger. but the water
kept climbing, and when the ship was
listing ! sent out the o S. Then,
hoping against hope, refused aid until
the very last.
II refused to leave the ship, and
nineteen of my engineers and officers
declared they would remain. Even
Fritz, the ships cook, and Johann,
twelve year. old cadet, stayed when the
waters were sweeping the lower decks.
''We finally showed off, but the waves
we're SO powerful that. with two men
on each oar, it was difficult to go more
than few yards and We were almost
caught by the sinking vessel. AS she
went down by the stern there was big
explosion, shooting the green seas a
hundred feet into the air.
JCorunna, Spain, Sept. 12.-(By A.
P)-When the ill-fated steamship
Hammonia left here for Vigo on Fri
day there were on board 5Ji persons,
Of whom 1863 were passengers. Ore
hundred and eight passengers and ca
pncity cargo were taken on here. Tie
Hammonia is reported to have grazcd &
rock while leaving the harbor.
Some survivors who have rcacbc Cd
here declare sixty three lives were last,
while others believe that all the crew
and passengers were saved.