The Daily Alaska empire., 1951-12-20
Fear fl Lost .AsShip Burns Off Oregon

VH oregon
 ASTORIA, Ore, Dec. 20-R--The Coast Guard said today that eight passengers and three crewmen pos sibly are missing" from the Dan ish motorship Erria burning at the mouth of the Columbia River.
 The Coast Guard said g passen- gers and 80 crew members had been accounted for. These estimates were based on the belief that IA were aboard the ship when 1t anchored just inside the mouth of the stream to await clearing weather before attempting to cross the bar. Crew members were unable to say posi- lively how many passengers were aboard.
 2 Whitehorse Persons Aboard
 Tn San Francisco, the East Asi- attic Lines also said that eight pass engers and three crewmen were un- accounted for but emphasized that hope had not been abandoned for them.
 East Asiatic officials identified the missing passengers as:
 MT. and Mrs. Hoist Andersen and Mrs. A. Sorensen. of Copenhagen; Dorothy Myers. c. F. Scott and Mrs. 0. M. Taylor. all of Vancouver, B. C.; and Mrs. A. M. Brunlees and Elizabeth. Whitehorse, Vt. T.
 Miss Myer was bound from Seattle to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Scott was enroute from Vancouver to St. Thomas and Mrs. Brunlees and her daughter from Vancouver to New York.
 Missing Crewmen
 The missing crewmen. all of Cop enhagen, are A. s. Iversen, T. An- derson and L. A. IIaase.
 About 35 of the passengers were taken aboard at Vancouver, B. C., crewmen said. Most of the passen- gers were on pleasure cruise down the west coast and through the Pan- anna Canal to New York.
 The Coast Guard reported one of four Nfehcats launched from the Errla was missing and might have some of the II aboard. Planes went up to hunt 1t.
 The commanding officer at the Tongue Point Coast Guard station, said the 103 were taken to the bar racks there and then were moved to the Astoria Hotel.
 Into Icy Water
 Early reports indicated that only one of those aboard went into the icy waters of the Columbia river. He was Hugo Ray. Vancouver, B. O., passenger. who grabbed line hanging over the side of the ship when the fire broke out. The line was unsecured and he plunged over the side, but was quickly picked up by Coast Guard vessel.
 Rays 11-year-old son, Bill, suf- fered burned heel in the fire and was taken to hospital here. Rays wife and three -month-old son were safe.
 Anchored At Fire Time
 The Erria. bound from Portland. Ore, to San Francisco, was burn ing al of mile off the Coast Guard station She was at anchor. awaiting clearing weather before crossing the bar when the fire broke out.
 Crew members said they believed the fire started from a shorted cable. It spread rapidly through the 400- foot vessel.
 Blyth said the order to abandon ship came five or six minutes after the alarm. The Coast Guard arrived luiShiJ iioAi ihS otdtAOii WitAi wv cutters and several lifeboats and be- gan taking off the passengers.
 Flames Shot High
 Watchers from the shore said the flames shot high above the ship. There was only light breeze blow ing.
 By am. (PST), about two and half hours after the ship caught fire weird blue flames lighted it. Smoke was pouring from below decks. Most of the ships survivors left all their belongings behind. Skipper of the 8,786-ton vessel, which left Portland Tuesday after loading lumber, is Capt. M. Agge. The vessel also loaded at Longview. It was operated by the East Asiatic Lines.