16 Crewmen Saved | ||
| by Donald Moore and Owen Easley PORTSMOUTH-Three additional crewmen of the sunken freighter Drosia were taken from the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Hatterias today, bringing to 16 the number of survivors. Eight men are still missing, but the USS CALIFORNIA has reported spotting two lifeboats in the search area and believes two or three more crewmen are aboard. Three survivors have been identified, including the Captain of the Drosia. V. Theodorou; her second engineer, Acadios Paulids; and Hector Lopez, a crewman. The vessel sank within four minutes about 4 a.m. Thursday, according to the Captain. Two of those rescued today were taken aboard the CALIFORNIA. It was not clear who had picked up the third man. An intensive air-sea search, centering about 90 miles off Cape Hatteras and covering about 6,700 square miles, is being maintained, the Coast Guard said. However, the Coast Guard said, the cold water would preclude anyone in the ocean living very long. The Captain of the Dorsia, a 335-foot Liberian flag vessel, reported he was unable to send a distress signal because of the swiftness of the sinking. He said the men had been in the water about 10 hours before managing to get into a rubber life raft. Other men were in another life raft, he said, while still others clung to logs. | Reports indicate that a cargo hatch on the side of the vessel ruptured, causing a flood of
water into the vessel. The Drosia, built in 1955, was formerly named the Lampsis and the Clifford J. Rogers. The vessel is owned by Lampsis Navigation, Ltd. of Monrovia, Liberia. The Hayes, commanded by Capt. John J. Cullen, USN, was on the scene doing hyd- rographic work when the flare was spotted. The Hayes was joined later by by the Navy vessel USS Montogmery and the Coast Guard Cutter Reliance. The first 13 men rescued, including the captain, were taken aboard the Hayes about 8:30 p.m. Thursday. A lookout spotted the flare, the ship came about, and proceeded to the rescue. A message from the Hayes on the rescue was the first word received by the Coast Guard about the sinking. The captain reported that the men had been in the water 10 hours before being able to get into the life raft. Coast Guard helicopters searched through the night using powerful "midnight sun" lights. Additional planes joined the search at day- light. The liner Queen Elizabeth II, passing through the area, offered her assistance. The Coast Guard said there were enough vessels in the search area, but asked the liner to maintain a sharp lookout for possible survivors. |
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