Evening star., 1927-10-15
I MISSING AS SHIP
sinks after CRASH
~ Rescued When Freighter
Goes Down Near Statue
of Liberty.
By the Associated Press.

NEW YORK, October 15.-The giant
French liner Paris, looming out Of
the shadow of the Statue OF Liberty in
New York Bay, rammed and sank the
Norwegian freighter Besseggen at 1870
am. today. OF the 81 passengers and
members Of the crew Of the freighter.
at least "a were brought to safety in
spectacular rescues by ferry boats, po-
lice boats and other. harbor craft. The
survivors included several women and
children.
The freighter went down within u
minutes. while those aboard Chamber
ed to the superstructure when it was
found that all lifeboats, had been
thrown from their davits. and time
prohibited use of life belts.
Many Jump Overheard.
No warning Of the crash came to
the sleeping persons aboard the 1859
ton freighter. 305 feet long, as the
liner. 735 feet long and of 81. .569 tons,
loomed out of the night and crashed
the Besseggen amidships. Water
quickly engulfed the entire engine
room crew and others in the lower sec
tions of the ship.
Within few minutes the super
structure Of the freighter was dotted
with frantic passengers and Seamer.
as the vessel listed heavily by the
stern. Many jumped into the black
water of the harbor and called to rap.
idly gathering rescue craft.
TWO ferryboats, running between
the battery. on Manhattan Island, and
st. George. Staten Island, halted in
their trips and Joined a lifeboat crew
from the Paris. police boats and
lighters in an effort to lift the
struggling survivors from the water.
On ferryboats excited passengers.
seeking to respond to the cries from
those foundering In the water fought
TO reach life preservers and lower
Hfeboats. One ferry landed 13 sur
vivors at the Battery while the sec
ond. bound for Staten Island, rescued
several others. Eight were picked
up by the Paris.
The hunt for survivors continued
through the night, long after the
silent waters of the main channel
the busiest steamship lane in the
world, had completely submerged the
freighter.
Captain Reports Crash.
The Paris stood through the night
at Quarantine, several miles away.
and removed the eight rescued sur
vivors. The liner was not damaged.
capt. Yves Thomas reported the
crash ny wireless to police headquar-
terS before the voyage was resumed.
Capt. Ludwig Hassell Of the
freiShter. his wife and his 4-year-old
taken to st. Vincept's Hospital on
Staten Island, where most Of the sur
vivors were treated.
Three possible causes of the colli-
sion were advanced by witnesses;
A strong northwest wind which swept
across the upper bay. an ebb tide
which, at the point where the colli-
sion occurred runs with considerable
strength, and the sunken hulk. lying
a short distance away. of a freighter
which went down in the channel
last Fall. about a half mile from sthe
Statue of Liberty.
Observers were of the opinion that
all three of these causes might have
had contributOry share in the crash.
The wind and the tide in combination
could have made the handling of the
giant liner an extremely difficult task.
and to this work was probably added
the necessity of avoiding the sunken
vessel. which lies astride the channel,
near the mud banks of Governors
Island.
The sinking of the Besseggen raised
another obstacle in the direct path of
harbor traffic to the sea.
To avoid the two hulks, authorities
said, 1t will be necessary for traffic to
swing perilously close to the mud
banks on Governors Island.
The BesSeggen, registered at Skein,
Norway, had been in the service Of
the American-Cuban line Of this city,
bringing sugar from Cuba. The vessel
had sailed from Cardenas, Cuba, on
September 19, and had been anchored
near the Statue of Liberty since
October 2. presumably awaiting place
at a pier.
The Paris was built in 1921, and
until the launching of the lie de
France this year. was the flagship of
the French Line fleet.