In connexion with the fire officials Palatial Unit of P. & O. Fleet Due on July 12: Unexcelled Luxuriousness of Accommodation and Appoint-of the Hugo Stinnes-Linien on Wednesday declared that, contrary to earlier press reports, there wa: no saltpetre nor kerosene and gasoline aboard the vessel.
The officials said that neither of these articles could be brought into the harbour by vessels and that what the early reports claimed to be saltpetre vas aly rice which was being conveyed from Hongkong to Japanese ports. They also claimed! that what rumour at first had as kerosene and gasoline was the fuel foil. This did not take fire, however, having been pumped out of the forward tanks as soon as the fire was detected.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.