Discussion of other parts of
Roinance
may
entail
that
I have the honor to be.
My Lord,
your Lordship's most Bedient
Juanke
wants.
Meffermera
The Daily Press.
HONGKONG, DECEMBER 6TH, 1877.
EXPLOSION ON THE "YESSO."
GREAT LOSS OF LIFE,
A fearful explosion, which has resulted in the loss of about eighty lives, occurred on the steamer Yesso, on her arrival at Hongkong from the Coast Ports on the morning of the 22nd Novem ber. The vessel had just arrived alongside Messrs. Douglas Lapraik's wharf when a dull sound was heard and immediately the forward part of the vessel was enveloped in clouds of steam. As soon as this steam cleared off it was found that the upper plate of the forward end of the starboard boiler had been blown out. The steam had filled the fore-hold, burst open the hatchway to the 'tween deoks (occupied by Chinese passengers) and bad thrown the deck -skylight from its position. Twelve men bad been killed on the spot, and the wounded were lying about in all directions. The scene was one inexpressibly distressing. Scattered about the deck lay the skins of hands, feet, and legs, which had come off entire. Prompt measures were taken by the captain and his officers, assisted by volunteers from the shore, to alleviate as far as possible the sufferings of the injured, and oil and other bandy remedias were freely applied. In the meantime Dr. Alams, the Health Ofoer of the Port, had arrived, and steps were at once taken to have the sufferers convoyed to Hospital, where their wounds were dressed, and then as the accommodation in the hospital was in- sufficient, the European moss-room in the gaol was fitted up as a temporary hospital, and the sufferers were removed there in the course of the morning. As soon as the Admiral heard of the accident he signalled for all the men-of-war in port to render medical assistance, which they promptly did, and Surgeon Mowll, of the Admi- ral'a dispatch-boat Vigilant, remained in constant attendance on the unfortunate sufferers for several days. A number of the more intelligent of the European and Chinese prisoners were selected as attendants, and made excellent nurses. These
men have been made the object of the Governor's i elemency, most of them have been rewarded with their liberty, and others have received partial remissions of their sentences.
The number of Chinese passengers on the steamer was a hundred and seventy. These were distributed on the forward and aft "Tween decks aud on the main deck. A good many of the passengers had left the 'tween decks before the accident oc- Iourred, but ecolies and boarding-house ruuners
had gone down to look for jobs, and these people! contributed largely to the number of killed and wonuded. The total number of persons killed or so severely injured as to be taken to hospital was eighty-nine and ten more were discovered afterwards in sampans in the harbour. In addi- tion to these there were many who received inju- ríes not very severe and who went away and have not since been heard of. The inquest was opened on the afternoon of the day on which the accident occurred by Mr. Russell, coroner, and a jury composed of Messrs. Mosely, Meyenberg, and Radecker. At that time the number of deaths amounted to thirty-seven, and the number was being hourly increased. The jury had to go though the painful task of viewing the bodies. They first went to the dead-house in Holly- wood-road, where the dead bodies, ranged on the floor and on benches, presented a fearful spectacle, the skin hanging from parts of the bodies or being completely stripped off. still more painful sight was that in the impro- vised hospital in the gaol, where forty-nine sufferers lay moaning on their beds. All that could be done to make them comfortable bad been done; they had had the best medical at- tendance, and their pain had been alleviated. to the full extent of surgical skill, but it was beart-rending to hear their groans and ob serve their fearful sufferings. It was notonly their external wounds they suffered from, but they had inhaled the steam and thus been scalded interually. The jury next visited the Yesso, and after that
A
4.90
463
the Tung Wah Hospital, where there were eight wounded, and the Civil Hospital, where a man. darin who had been hurt and another man re- mained. All the sufferers by the explosion were Chinese, with the exception of the second en- gineer, W. Haggat, and one Malay, both of whom died. Although there were several wo- men on board none of them were injured. The jurors having seen the dead bodies and visited the wounded, the inquiry was adjourned until the following day. In all the inquiry lasted six days. The cause of the accident was rendered sufficiently clear by the scientific eví- dence. As to who was responsible for the state of things which existed and rendered the accident possible, the first engineer, Theodore Bernard, said it was the duty of the third engineer to examine the boilers and to report to him if there were any defects; the third engineer, W. H. King. said he had reported to the second engineer. the unfortunate man who died, that the stays of the boiler were corroded. but the second engineer thought they were splash boards and not stays. The jury returned the following verdict: We find that Tsang Asam and several others met their deaths from an explosion of the starboard boiler of the steamship Yesso in this harbour on the 22nd instant, and that the said explosion resulted from the defective condition of the boiler, the gusset stays in the forward end being, with the exception of one, corroded through, and the end plate also cor. roded to a dangerous extent. This state of the boiler was owing to the negligence and want of judgment of the engineers, whom we consequently consider guilty of manslaughter. We are of opinion that no blame can be attached to any one else. We would also add that we con- sider it most deplorable that in a large shipping centre like Hongkong there are no periodical Government surveys of the boilers andruschinery of steamers, as is the case in the United King dom.
The two engineers had been charged with manslaughter before the magistrate before the verdict was given and the case against them is still proceeding before C. May, Esq., the Crown Solicitor appearing to prosecute. The first pri- soner is defended by Mr. Brereton, and the second by Mr. Francis.
The boiler, it appears, was built in Hongkong about three years and a half ago. The forward and was secured by the flanging of the plates and gusset stays. These gassot stays, of which thore were eight attached to the plate blown ont, had originally been fifteen inches broad by three eighths of an inch thick. It was discovered in the examination after the explosion that they were all very much corroded and only one of them had the appearance of having been recently severed; they were very thin, some about the thickness of thick paper and the thickest one. eighth of an inch thick. The plate itself was o Lowmoon iron. Originally it had been three- eighths of an inch thick; in some parts it was found to be still nearly of its original thickness, in others three-sixteenths of an inch, and in one part one-eighth. In the explosion the plate was blown through a wooden balkhead and several tiers of chests of tea to a distance of 16 feet. The cargo, of course, was very much damage.
There were several very narrow escapes in the accident. A few who were in cabins had the pre- sence of mind to shut their doors and open scuttles thereby securing a good supply of air, and thus thoy oscaped injury entirely or very nearly so. One man told a wonderful tale at the inquest to the effect that he was sitting on the 'tween decks hatch when the explosion took place, i and the next thing ho remembered was finding | hitself on the main deck his belief being that he had been blown through the skylight. His brother, who was standing a short distance away from him when the accident occurred, was killed, and it is difficult to account for the man's escape in any other way than that in which he accounts for it himself, as being in the full blast of the steam he would certainly have been scalded to death before he could have reached the dock by any other means of access than the very speedy one be describes.
Mrs. Hennessy had intended holding au "at home"
on the evening of the accident, but in consequence of the lamentable occurrence, this was postponed for a few days. An intended performance by the band of the 28th Regiment
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.