Dire Peril of 500 Chinese Passengers out from Woosung: A
Thrilling Rescue by the Grace Dollar A fire at sea, which but for the efficient and speedy help of an adjacent vessel might easily have resulted in a catastrophe involving nearly 500 passengers, broke out on the str. Hsin Pao Hua on Tuesday evening about 9.30. The vessel, belonging to the Ping An Ca., left Shanghai for Chusan about 6.30 p.m. on the day mentioned, and had passed about an hour and half beyond Woosung, when flames burst out of the after hold, which was laden with highly combustible products including 200 tins of kerosene oil, a consignment of beancake, and some cotton and maize. The passengers became panic-stricken and crowded forward to get away from the flames, which soon caused the decks to become very hot. The captain sent up signals of distress and managed to keep the frightened Chinese from jumping overboard until the str. Grace Dollar, inbound, raced up on full steam an hour and) half after the fire was noticed.
The captain laid the Grace Dollar alongside the flaming boat and made fast, though the difficulties were great. The 471 passengers were transferred and the Chinese crew making in all about 500 men, women and children. Lines were cast off and a tow rope attached and the.two boats started slowly for Woosung, the Grace Dollar pumping water into the after hold all the while. When close to the Huangpu they were met by the Woosung Harbourmaster in his launch, who superintended the fire-fighting from then on. The Dollar boat cast off and the tug Fuhlee took up the work of towing and finally at 2.58 a.m. beached the Hsin Pao Hua off the Quarantine. Station. Assisting the Harbourmaster were the Customs tidewaiters on the Customs float, who with three streams of water completely filled the burning hold and quenched the fire at 6 o'clock on Wednesday morning.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.