Evening star., 1953-02-01
133 Reported Lost
As Hurricane Sinks
Ship Off Ireland
Continued From First Page.>

because heavy seas"
Other vessels in the area
fought their way to the ferry's
position to give hand, but the
Princess Victoria had plunged
to the bottom.
The destroyer Contest and
four merchant ships joined in a
hunt for the victims. A tanker
laid down an oil slick in an eff
fort to reduce the waves. Cir
cling aircraft sighted some pas
sengers and crewmen on life
boats and dropped flares to mark
the positions. But many of the
groups had disappeared by the
time surface rescue craft got
there.
U. S. Plane Sights Bodies.
One of the planes was a United
States Air Force C-82 Trans
portcar" piloted by Capt. Neal
A. Byrd, which was diverted to
the rescue mission while on a
training flight from it's base at
Sculthorpe.
Most of the persons sighted
were dead.
The first of the survivors
landed at Donaghadee at 6:15
pm. Q:15 pm. EST). AS they
walked up the steps from a rescue
boat. they were cheered by a
waiting crowd.
Some were rushed off to hos
pitals. Others were able to walk
to a nearby hotel.
Only 35 survivors had been
landed at Irish Ports by 1880
pm, four and a half hours
after the Princess Victoria sank.
1t was considered likely, however,
that a few others were aboard
rescue vessels still at sea. The
search of the wreckage Strewn
waters continued into the night.
Survivors Show Shock.
Most of the survivors brought
in seemed in reasonably good
shape. though suffering from
shock. Some were so dazed they
had to be helped ashore. Several
men had bloody faces and one
suffered broken arm.
The Princess Victoria, built
in 1947, was Britain's most mod
ern ferry. The 306-foot vessel
was equipped to carry 1900 pas
sengers and 80 vehicles. Specially
built to suit the shallow draft
requirements of Stranraer har-
Dor, she was operated by the
British Transport Commission.
Her channel route usually is
the Smoothest sea link between
Britain and Ireland. She nor
ma11y made the trip in two and
half hours. Thousands of
American troops were ferried
over this route by other craft in
World War II.
Calls for Tug.
The Princess Victoria set out
this morning with ap unusually
light load and though winds
were blowing up, they did not
appear serious.
The first hint of trouble came
in a message Capt. Ferguson
sent at GAS am. as the steamer
headed out of Loeb Ryan.
Car deck flooded" he radioed.
"Need tug
Two hours later and four miles
off the Scottish coast, the skipper
radioed: Heavy list to starboard.
Need immediate assistance. Ship
out of control"
Storm Gains Force.
Lifeboats out of Port Patrick,
on the Scottish coast, and DON
aghadee were launched, but
could make little headway as
the storm mushroomed into a
1Qll-ScdIe hurricane.
At noon, shore stations picked
up another SOS: vessel now
has 35 degree list to starboard."
The Contest joined the rush to
the stricken vessel and radioed
encouragement that Capt. Fer
guSon relayed to his passengers
over the Victoria's intercom-
munication system to avert a
panic.
Waning hope was sounded in
an SOS at 1852 pm:
Position critical. Starboard
engineroom flooded"
Then, a short time later, ship
on beam ends"
Gusts of wind sent the found
ering ferry toward her destina-
ton on the Irish coast. but aim
leSsly.
Hail Stones Fall.
Water poured over the decks.
Waves battered the sides. Hail
stones pelted down as the storm
grew.
To the end, the captain kept
alive the hopes of his passengers
by assuring them rescue ships
were on the way. All the while,
he kept up a steady chatter of
instructions on fixing lifebeltS
and launching lifeboats.
Then he sent the final, drama
tic message: preparing to aban-
don ship"
The fate of the captain was
not known by the first survivors
brought ashore.
Transport Halted.
The storm had ragged in swiftly
across the north of Scotland as
all Britain felt the extremes of