Evening star., 1947-11-27
ShipWreck Survivor
Says Officers Were
Unaware Of Danger
BY the Assoeioted Press

KETCHIKAN, Alaska, Nov. PA
survivor of the ill-fated Clarksdale
Victory disclosed today that officers
and crew of the wrecked transport
believed the ship to be about Is
miles of shore when it ran aground
on Hippa Island along the Northern
British Columbia coast.
Details of the grounding Monday
night were related by Seaman
Carlos M. Sanabria, %, of Honduras,
first of the survivors to be taken
aboard the Coast Guard cutter
Wachusett. He was suffering Sc
verely from shock and exposure,
fractured right wrist and numerous
bruises and lacerations.
The other three survivors and
bodies OF four seamen are to be
brought aboad the cutter today. The
other As officers and crewmen have
been given up for lost.
HCdNS oSdS hSh
In an interview with 1t. Comdr.
G.. w. Playdon of the Wachuset,
Sanabria said:
THE junior third mate obserVel,
that the heavy seas were striking
the ship in an unusual manner and
reported this to the master, who at
tributed it to the lightly loaded con-
dition of the ship.
Shortly after the vessel was
lifted bodily by a roller, striking
heavily, and then shuddered as she
struck a rock. She heaved and
struck once or twice after this.
"All hands were called to the boat
deck to abandon ship, but because OF
the mountainous breakers it was
thought safer to remain on hoaro
than to attempt to abandon in the
ships boats.
Ten minutes later the vessel
split in two at the No. hatch The
section containing the lifeboats and
the crew slowly settled as the ire
mendous seas crashed heavily over
the boat deck.
Crew Swept Overheard.
The boats were swept away and
in groups of two or three the crew
was swept overheard into mael-
strom of churning water, wreckage,
oil and rocks.
The last I saw of the master
Capt. Gerald r. Laugeson of Oak
land he was climbing to the boat
deck with about half the crew
shortly before was washed over the
side.
THE cold water was paralyzing
and my body took an almost un-
endurable beating from the rocks. I
was nearly strangled by my life
jacket and one foot was badly cut
from scraping on the razor sharp
rocks
After about 20 minutes, I was
washed ashore on gravelled sec
ton of beach between some boul-
ders and crawled to log. passed
out until morning."
3 to Be Moved Today.
Only Sanabria was removed to
the cutter yesterday. The other
survivors-Second Mate Henry H.
Wolfe, Oakton, Calf, and Third
Mates William NJ Rasmussen of
Modesto, Calf, and Clair E. Dris-
coll of Los Angeles--will be taken
aboard today. Ali were reported
suffering from shock as well as from
long exposure to the salt water.
That the fate of the 45 missing
men might be sealed in the stern
section of the vessel was indicated
I by Wolfe, who told rescue party:
Il think the others must have
gone to the bottom with the stern.
When the stern broke off, it went
straight to seaward."
He said he was certain no others
had been able to escape ir lifeboats.
So Reported on Vessel.
The number of men aboard the
vessel was said by the Coast Guard
to be SO. In addition to the ST.
previously reported, two others were
also aboard working their way
south.
A surface vessel is to investigate
today a vertical stick" sighted by
a Coast Guard plane some 100 yards