The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-10-28
Mafalda Survivors Say
400 Are Drowned
Continued from Page One)
If the first survivors of the Princi-
oessa Mafalda to be landed here.


pessa Mafalda to be landed here.
Saw Shark Eat Victims.
Ferreira declares that he personally
saw shark attack one man, and that
the waters about the sinking Italian
liner were Redeemed apparently by the
blood of others who had been attacked
by sharks.
Ferreira's story was a graphic one
of the panic which followed the eX
plosions on board the ship, and the
consequent rush to the boats on a
vessel that was sinking and with all
of its lights eXtinguished.
"Soon after the wreck, said Fer
reira, light was seen on the horizon.
1t was the Formosa. Later the Brit
ish vessel Rosetti arrived and by
agreement, one vessel picked up all
those in life boats and the crews of
the other ships took care of those
floating about on RATS or with the
aid of preservers.
For five hours the Mafalda re-
manned afloat, and then, after another
explosion she sank. A mighty wave
was thrown up as she disappeared be-
low the surface"
Rescuers See Deaths.
The captain of the steamer Mosella,
which brought survivors into this port
today, also told a graphic tale of
commingled courage and stark terror.
at was a horrible spectacle when
we arrived on the scene," the captain
of the Mosella said. "There were
frantic men, women and children
floating all about us. Many women
and children seemed to have gone
stark mad as they drifted about in the
dark night, with fairly high waves
tossing them about
eve had received our first S. o. S.
on the night of the twenty-fifth and
speeded to the location given and
found the vessel already sinking.
while we stood by and helped in
the rescue work, the radio officer of
the Principessa remained at his post
continually sending out S. o. S. mes
sages. The captain of the ship was
on the bridge. They stayed on their
job until the vessel sank. The crew
of the Mafalda behaved with the
greatest of heroism.
Fascist COntradicted.
Two women, one man and one child
were found to be dead when taken
aboard the Mosella.
The captain of the Mosella esti-
mates the missing at 400.
Told of the claims of officials in
Rio Janeiro that the lost did not ex-
coed 68 the captain of the Mosella in
sisted upon his estimate that there
were 400 missing.
eve heard the crying and plaintive
walls of these folks who were strug-
CLING about in the water and many
of them must have been drowned"
said members of the Mosella's crew.
The police of Bahia were today or
dered to conduct an inquiry into the
sinking of the Mafalda on grounds
that the wreck occurred within Braz-
ilian waters.
Old WOrn-Out Ship.
The Principessa Mafalda was an old
discarded troop ship, used in the world
war ten years ago, and now owned by
the Navigazione Generate Italiana. of
Genoa, which is permitted by the Fas-
cist admiralty to use vessels of this
type for the transportation of immi-
grants to South American ports. The
wreck was caused by boiler explo
sior.
While the Italian embassy still es-
Inmates but GO persons missing a re-
capitulation of radio advices from res
cue ships of survivors is as follows:
Athena, 451; Formosa, 1853; Rossert
II; Mosella "a; Total 855.
The Mafalda had a total of 1858
aboard, the owners say.
4he Italian embassy announces that
among the third class passengers
there were 118 Syrians, 36 Jugo-Slav-
ians, two Austrians, one Hungarian.
one Swiss, one Argentinian, one Uru-
guayan and fifty Spaniards.