Passengers on the str. Sakaki Maru, bound for Dairen, early Wednesday morning hed an unpleasant experience before reaching Woosung, when the vessel collided amidships with the Eastern Sailor, proceeding up the river.
The Sakaki Mary was struck on the starboard side near the engine room hatch, Rer plates being stove in below the waterline. She was found to be leaking so badly that the Shanghai Tug & Lighter Co.'s tender Rocket was called to the scene, and beached her near Kajow Creek on the Pootung shore. The collision took place about 9 a.m. in the vicinity of Black Point. Had the Sakaki not been quickly brought into shallow water it is thought she would have been in danger of sinking, as the engine room, stokehold and one of the holds were flooded. The stem of the Eastern Sailor was slightly twisted, and she 1s reported tw have shipped a little water in the f repeat.
The Sakaki had on board a full complement of passengers. They wore landed: n the afternoon at th" S M. R. Wharf.
The majority of the passengers appear to have been _breakfasting at the time. Describing his experiences, one of them, Mr. A Hamel, said: "My cabin was situated just where we were struck. Fortunately I was having breakfast at the time in another part of the ship. There were a group of us sitting down together, and some one remarked that a big junk came perilously close to us, Then there loomed alongside the hull of a much bigger ship, and the next minute the crash came. Some of the furniture was smashed and we were all considerably alarmed."
Mrs. A. Holdsworth, returning with her husband to Newchwang, sustained a slight injury, her band being bruised through her falling against a piece of furniture.
Mr. M. H. _Pickersgill, formerly connected with the British Consulate at Ekateringburg, who recently brought to Shanghai a report of the progress made by the Association of British Creditors in Russia, also had a cabin near where the bows of the Eastern Sailor struck the Japanese vessel. "My wife and I were looking out of a porthole a short distance away from our state room. The bulkhead must have got shifted, for the door of our room could not be opened after the colli sion. At the moment of contact we were violently shaken. A lot of glass was broken. There were anxious moments for everybody until it was discovered that no one had been injured or killed."
SatvaGe Gaine os SatrsracroRity.
Salvage operations progressed satisfactorily on Thii<lay on the Sakaki Maru, beached near Black Point. The Sakaki, which had on board 66 pasangers and a, full cargo for northern ports, was badly~ crushed, her engine room, stokehold and after hold being flooded. _The Shanghai Dock & Engineering Ca. had a number of steam and motor centrifugal pumps working at full pressure. Several divers were also busy with salvage gear, affixing collision mats to the damaged portion of the hull. Measures have been taken to salve as much of the damaged cargo as possible. When seen by a '"North-: China Daily News" representative yesterday, an official of the S. M. R., owners of the damaged vessel, stated that she would be able to proceed to her berth today, but this was considered improbable in other quarters.
The exact cause of the accident has not yet been determined, as the inquiry, wrongly reported to have been held the day following, did not take place.
Although a thick fog enveloped the environs of Shanghai early on Wednesday morning, it had cleared away by nine o'clock when the vessels struck. A statement that the Sakaki was proceeding towards Woosung at a speed of 15 knots, and disregarded the warning whistle blasts of the U. 8. Shipping Board steamer, is strongly denied. The former's speed, we are informed, does not exceed 12 knots.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.