London, Mar, 23, News of the sinking of the Danish steamers Christianborg and Charkow brings the number of neutral ships sunk in the past two days to seven, of which six were Danish and one Norwegian.
It is learned in reliable quarters in London that all seven were torpedoed without warning. Forty-five members of the crews are either missing or known to have been drowned.
The Norwegian vessel sunk was the steamer Svinta, which was damaged during Wednesday's air raid on shipping. The Svinta, it is learned, was torpedoed yesterday. It is affirmed in London that none of the seven vessels were in convoy.
Salvage tugs towed the Dutch oil tanker, Phobos (7,412 tons), into port yesterday. The coxswain of a life-boat which had been standing-by, stated that the sea all around was covered with black oil, pouring from a huge hole in the ship's side. It was a marvel that the ship remained afloat, he said, but a salvage crew, and divers, working day and night, had apparently effected temporary repairs.
The tanker, registered at the Hague, was mined off the south coast of Britain on March 20. Thirty of the crew, covered in thick crude oil, were rescued by a life-boat, but five members were feared missing—Reuter.
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