Evening star., 1941-05-19
Zumzum Believed
Lost in Atlantic
Or Indian Ocean

from NetU York March 20 carry
ing mired cargo and passenger
list, including missionaries and
ambulance drtUerS going to
Africa. She reached Recite, Bra
gil, April 8 and departed the tol-
loiDing day on the merit leg OF her
trip to East Africa. Nothing fur
ther WaS heard from the DesSel.
., the Associated Press.
The broad expanse of the
South Atlantic-or possibly the
Indian Ocean-cloaked the fate
today of 1873 Americans, "a other
passengers and 120 crewmen
aboard the 8,29e-ton Egyptian
passenger liner zamzam, report
ed sunk on a voyage from New
York to Alexandria, Egypt.
Aside from the bare Alexandria
announcement that the ship had
gone to the bottom after leaving
Recife CPernambuco), Brazil, on
April 9 for Capetown, South Africa.
her next stop, there was no definite
word of what happened to the 32-
year -old motorship.
London officials said merely that
the ship was presumably lost de-
elining to elaborate.
State Department Probe Sought.
In New York William " C. Rux-
ton, president of the British -Ameri-
can Ambulance Corps, which had
volunteers for service in Africa
aboard the ship said he would ask
the State Department to investigate.
State Department officials said
that all they knew about the Zam-
zam was that it was long overdue at
Cape Town. Secretary Hull said in
uuiries were being made in various
quarters, but they had yielded no
definite information.
One puzzling aspect was the an
nouncement by Thomas Cook g. Son,
New York passenger agents for the
vessel, saying that the State De-
partment in Washington had ordered
the passenger list withheld. A copy
of the list was airmailed to Wash
tngton, the agents said, and may be
released here tomorrow.
Last Word From Recife.
So far as could be confirmed moth
ing has been heard from the zam-
zam since she sailed out of Recife
with the 1873 Americans aboard, in
cluding "a American ambulance
drivers and their assistants en- route
to service with the British and
free French" forces in Egypt and
a group of Protestant and Catholic
missionaries en- route to posts in
Central Africa.
Dispatches from Recife said the
final passenger list included 1873
United States citizens, Is Cana
dians, Is British, South Africans,
4 Belgians, 2 Greeks, Italian and
Norwegian-a total of 202. No
passengers disembarked there, it
was said.
Since the Zamzam disappeared
without a trace, New York shipping
circles conjectured that she might
have been the victim of German
surface raider, which took off her
passengers and crew.
If she had been torpedoed by a
submarine, these quarters said, sur
vivors in all probability would have
been located in lifeboats and picked |
up by now.
There was report in New York
that relatives of some Americans
aboard had been notified of their
safe arrival at Mombasa, on the
Kenya coast of Africa, but this later
was declared unfounded.
Some Reported at Capetown.
Another unconfrmed report said
others had reported their safe ar
rival at Capetown. In this case,
the zamzam might have been sunk
In the Indian Ocean.
Although the Recife dispatches
said only 1873 United States citizens
were aboard. Dr. Emory Ross, gen.
eral secretary of the Foreign Mis-
sions Conference of North America,
said the ship carried some ITO mis-
sfonaries. If the Zamzam reached
Mombasa or Capetown it is likely
that some of them debarked at these
ports.
Captain Is Missing.
The Alexandria Navigation Co.
received a cable from London ad-
vising that the zamZams master,
Capt. William Gray Smith, a vet
eran of 81 years at sea, was missing,
but there were no other details.
Beside the missionaries and am
hulance drivers the Zamzam was
carrying cargo of fertilizer, trucks,
automobiles and machinery of va
rious types and was said to have
(see SINKING, Page A-3.)