SEA TRAGEDY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIX, Issue 245, 14 September 1929, Page 3

SEA TRAGEDY.

ENGINEER’S STORY. A graphic story of the sinking of the San Erancisco coastal steamer San Juan, is told by Harry Wade, a marine engineer. Relating how tho engines were slowed down when the fog settled down outside the Golden Gate, he said: “it was cold in our room, but I said, ‘the steam is going through the right place instead of through the radiator,’ and we both commended the captain for whistling frequently. I had hardly finished the remark before there was a terrible crash, and tho lights went out. Wo groped our way into the dining-room, where someone struck a match. “ ‘Come on,’ I shouted, ‘let’s lower the boats,’ and started letting down No. 1 boat on tho starboard side. A sailor helped to rip tho canvas off, and we shoved four women and one man into the boat. The captain came along and called the' sailor, and they Aoth walked aft. “The stern was sinking then, and while we tried to lower the lifeboat, the San Juan up-ended and slid under tho water with a terrific roar. I was drawn into tho vortex. “It seemed an age until the boiler exploded somewhere near, with a shock and rumble that jarred me many feet. I was shot towards the surface. The fore topmast bumped me somewhere in my travels, and grasping that, I shot with it into the air.”