Messrs. Banker & Ca., of Hongkong, whose extensive service of motor passenger-boats on the West River has recently suffered from Piratical depredations, have now received intelligence of a terrible disaster to the Tien Kwan, one of the smaller boats of the Company,
of February 2. the vessel says the " Hongkong Dairy 1 Press" was on her way to Nanning on January 98 @ fire broke out on board near Kuaiping. The crew could not combat the flames, and the ship was completely burnt out, while more than twenty persons, iacluding passengers and crew, perished in the fire.
The cause of the fire is not known at present, no detailed report having yet been received by the Hongkong office.
The Tien Kwan, which flew the British flag, was quite a new boat,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.