Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-07-29
A Night of Horror
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Continued From First Pag'
farra, 40, of the New York Times
had come aboard with his family
He had tried to book passage or
the Cristoforo Colombo, sister
ship of the Andrea Dorea. But
this was the height Of the season
So he had taken this ship
With his wife Jane, his daughter
Joan, and his stepdaughter
Linda Morgan, he had obtained
cabins 1884 on an upper deck
To save money, two Hungarian
dancers had given up a cabin or
that deck. Istzan Rabovsky and
his wife, Norah Kovachs. took
another on the opposite side Of
the ship.
Now the voyage was nearly
ended This was the night before
landing. People were packing
many had gone to bed earlier
than usual. The usual last-night
atmosphere-bitter and sweet
relief and regret-settled ovel
the Andrea Doria.
On deck, Martin Sejda thought
he saw a light of the starboard
side. He perred into the grey
darkness. Did something glow
out there?
At that same moment, Arne
Smedberg, a seaman on the
Stockholm. was sinking into bed
with a luxurious sigh. His bunk
was well forward, near the bow
Both Held Course
The Swedish ship had not al
tered course. Neither had the
Andrea Doria.
These are always crowded
waters. They funnel transatlan-
tic traffic into New York and
New Jersey. and they carry
heavy coastwise shipping be-
tween New England, Norfolk,
Baltimore and Philadelphia.
Fog frequently shrouds the
lanes. Two years ago, a Dutch
liner collided with a French
freighter, without loss of life,
of Nantucket Island. So the
transatlantic lanes are one-way
and supposed to be wide. They
are designated with initials, &C
for Charley" etc.
On that Wednesday night, the
fog was thicker than usual. 1t
rose. like steam, from the con-
tact between the 70-degree tenn
perature Of the air and the ga
degree ocean surface. A very
faint breeze was blowing. The
ocean was CLASSY. The Andrea
Doria rode gracefully over a
gentle swell.
Martin Sejda was getting
sleepy. He decided to rejoin his
parents IN the ballroom, and
he started to turn away from
the rail when he saw something
that froze him.
II saw lights. I saw her lights
about three seconds before the
crash. 1t was coming in at an
angle. like it was trying to keep
from hitting u.s."
Ballroom Scene
In the ballroom, Mrs. Grace
Mclean. of Norfolk, Va, was
dancing. Over her partners
shoulder. she could see a blaze
of light through the window. 1t
came closer. and closer. Then
there was a crash.
I'VE saw the bow crush right
into us. We ran to the other
side of the ship. People kept
saying, Keep calm. keep calm"
In a cabin below decks, Miss
Mary Marsich of Cleveland was
asleep. Her friend, Miss Frances
Aljinovic. happened to glance
through the portfolio just at that
moment. What she saw made
her GASP
Il saw the boat alongside us
1t was all lighted up. 1t was
very. very close and getting
closer. I said. Mary, it's going
to hit and then it did.
This was at 1920 pm.
The shock of impact seemed
different to different people
"A terrific crunching sound \.
q big bang / thought it was
just a heavy sea like a fire.
cracker :. it felt like a Earring
and grinding there was a
lurch and it seemed to me the
engines had just stopped sud-
denly"
AAAC NAoohCu AM YAH
The Stockholf's graceful bow
heavily reinforced against pos
sible ice in Northern waters
cut hole 40 feet across at the
widest point. 1t was shaped like
an inverted pyramid.
The Stockholm's bow was torn
bent and folded back like a
mashed tin can. But her wound
was not mortal.
The Andrea Doria's was.
The hole in her side was just
behind the bridge and on the
starboard side. Fortunately, the
sea was calm. Even so. the first
bull-shouldered swell sent tons
Of water pouring in. Almost i'm
mediately, she took on a list.
In that awful instant death
came swiftly to both ships.
on the Andrea Doria it came
to people on that upper deck
on the starboard side. In a
relatively small area of cabins
this is what happened:
No. 46-Walter Carlin. we'll
known in Brooklyn Democratic
circles. had just stepped into
the corridor intending to join
some friends in the lounge. His
wife went to bed.
The crash knocked Mr.. Carlin
on his feet. He staggered back
into the cabin. There was q
I