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THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH,
.8
RECENT PICNIC MISHAP.
INQUIRY INTO MOTOR BOAT TRAGEDY.
A defective carburettor, minus two of its caps, and two securing nuts from the sparking plags, was stated to have been the most prob. able cause, of the fire which broke out on board a moter boat on which a party of picnickers was travelling from Sai King to Nam Tau on Sunday, November 27. when during attempts to escape from the burning boat five of the passengers lost their lives.
As a result of the fatality a Coroner's inquiry was held by Mr. W. Schofield at the Kowloon Magistracy yesterday afternoon with the following jury-Messrs. A F. Vas (foreman), H. F. Jason and Y. A. Wahab,'.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1927.
during the journey to Nam Tau Sha.
Witness said that there were four members of the crew and during the whole of the trip they were smoking. Witness had war- ed them against this practice when the engine was giving the trouble. When about one hundred yards from the shore at Nam Tau Sha; that the crew was witness said again attempting to start the en- gine, when suddenly one of the sexmen shouted that the boat was on fire.
Witness gave the order for the petrol tap ta be turned off while iwo members of the crew tried to smother the flames with a sack which, not having been previously made wet, merely burned. The attempt was then repeated with a Chinese quilt, but this similarly useless. The women- folk became panic-stricken and witness urged them to remain calm.
Was
Just as he was trying to pull The fuquest was an investiga- it down the awning caught fire. an into the circumstances of the and then the women made u fran- deaths of Mrs. Alleye, Miss Tai tie rush to the stern of the boat. Cau, Miss Chan Tin, and Messrs. Three of the girls either jumped Lai Kingbing, Jamieson and" ipor fell, overboard and witness, Kau, who were passengers et the secing their plight, threw some pianks to them. He himself later motorboat.
Mr. Robert Hall, assistant Gov-lost his balance and fell into the ernment Marine Surveyor, was water. After being carried a called to give evidence of an short distance from the boat, by examination of the motorboat after the current, witness swam back. the fire. He said that he Inspect and was told by his wife that the
fire had been extinguished.
the motorbout Tung Yat Fat, at Shikung. It was similar" to those plying for hire at Queen's Pier and was of the open type with a Class 2 lienee. It had ac commodation for 14 passengers, but when plying within the limits of the harbour it could carry twenty.
Several Rescues Effected. On boarding, he saw several of the party in the members water. He shouted to a boat which had approached them to res- cue, Miss Alleye. This boat rescu- ed several of those in the water, including Miss Alleye. Later the
a sampan and ashore, returning to Hongkong by launch, which they found in the vicinity.
"
went
In reply to the Coroner, witness said that the crew paid no head about smoking. to his warning There were no life buoys or belts on board the boat as far as wit-
Witness said that with the ex-party got ception of the awning over the en- gine having been burned and the woodwork charred, the boat was not damaged. The carburettor was in a very bad condition. Two cups were missing while from the sparking plugs the securing nuts had disappeared. The engine as far as could be seen was not hurn-ness could see. ett. There was no life saving an- paratus on board the bont when witness examined it.
.
Anawering Divisional Inspector Aris, witness said that there were. about 30 persons on board alto- gether. The weather was fine and- the sea calm. Witness did not con- aider that the number of passengers made the journey dangerous.
Possible Cause of Fire. Questioned by the Coroner. Mr. 1all and that the absence of the carburettor caps and the spark Continuing he said that the pas plug nuts would cause the petrolsengers were searched by an In- to pre-ignite, which would result dian constable prior to leaving. in a buck fire, thus causing the Saikung. The constable made no
the pre-ignition: to set fire to the complaint about
excessive motorboat. Witness, was of the number of passengers. There opinion that this was the most were two oars on board, said wit- probable way the fire had originat-ness in reply to a further ques- ed.
tion.
4:
With the carburettor in such a rondition, a spark from a cigarette would also, cause a fire, while on the other hand witness said that a carburettor in perfect order would not be likely to cause fire
When asked why two members of the party did not attempt to row the boat ashore as soon as the fire started, witness said that. during the journey Mr. Lun had offered to assist the crew "by row-
to the engine through a spark.ofing the boat, but he was refused a cigarette.
permission to use the oars.. The boat was licensed on Octo- Questioned further witness her 22, having been surveyed two said that the crew did not ac- days previous to that date. It tually refuse to allow Mr. Lun to was, then equipped with four feuse the oars, but when he asked buoys, two sand hoses (each) athem they made no reply to his ten inch gabe), and two chemical offer. fire extinguishers. Although it
In answer to the jury, witness
was stated in the permit that. said that he did not think the fire
there should be seven life belts on board, witness said that there were no belts on the bout when the survey was made,
When the boat was inspected after the accidant, witness only saw the two and boxes, one of which had been partly used.
Dr. Dovey gave evidence of per- forming post mortem examinations on the bodies of the six persons. All the bodies showed signs of asphyxia by drowning which was the cause of death in each case.
was caused by a lighted cigarette.
It was just as the crew cranked' up the engine that the fire start- cil.
Replying to a further question witness said that he did not sec Mrs. Allere after the fire.
The inquiry was adjourned.
MALTING BARLEY,
GOVERNMENT DECIDES NOT
TO IMPOSE TAX..
London, Dec. 20.
Bodies Recovered. Sergeant Hudson testified, to finding the body of Mrs. Alleyu
In a memorandum issued as a floating in the water at Nam Tau Sha near the landing steps. The White Paper the Government gives bodies of Misa, Tri Tau' was found reasons for rejecting the proposal on the rocks at Cheung Pai Tauto place a customs duty on im- (Port Shelter), while the others ported malting barley. The view were recovered on the rocks in the is taken that the customs duty vicinity of Nam Tau Sha. The would be difficult to administer remains of Mrs. Alleye were found and would be open to the possi the day after the tragedy, Elisk bility of evasion, while it would | → Tai Tau on December 1 and the impose irritating restrictions on all traders in barley and malt, and others on December 3.
Witness also saw the motor would be of doubtful advantage to boat on the beach about a mile the farmer-British Wireless. north of Nam" Tau Sha. There was no life saving paraphernalia on board nor did he find any belts or buoys on the shore,
In reply to Divisional Inspector Aris, witness said that he had seen the Tang Yat Fat on four or five occasions during the past five months, but he had never, seen it carrying more than ten or twelve passengers.
Mr. Chan Chan-chi, of the, Cen- tral Trading Company, was next talled. He said that a party of fifteen, including himself, went 10 Saikung on the afternoon of, Sun- day, November 27. On reaching Salkung the party went for a short walk and then boarded the Tung Yat Fat for Nam Tau Sha, leav-. ing the wharf at 3 p.m.
Engine Trouble Develops, When Mr. Chan's party board- ed there were already two or three passengers on the boat, while five or six arrived shortly afterwards. Almost immediately after leaving Salkung the motor- boat developed engine trouble. It stopped about a dozen times
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