London, May 17.
The 13880-ton Ville de Bruges, formerly the American liner President Harding, a well-known visitor to Shanghai and China coastal ports, has been bombed and sunk near Ostend.
The liner was bombed by German planes on the morning of May 14 soon after leaving Antwerp with 50 families, mostly women and British Britain. subjects who were being sent home to
"There were 64 passengers aboard, including four children in arms and crippled women. After the bombing, they were all landed safely. Three were killed by bombs, and a fourth died later. Fifty-three members of the crew arrived in London today. The crew arrived with a bunch of Belgian refugees.
The liner is now lying a burnt-out wreck on the banks of the Scheldt, 12 miles below Antwerp. The bo'sun said: "We left Antwerp at 4 a.m., and at about 7 am. three bombers appeared and swooped down to about 150 feet and let go a bomb. It hit us aft, went through and exploded in the side of the ship, blowing it out steel bulkhead protected the passengers' quarters, and they were unhurt. The Ville de Bruges was sold to a Belgian company by the United States Line in February.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.