Tragedy At Sea: Humdreds Rescued From Ship Fire
Tragedy At Sea: Humdreds Rescued From Ship Fire
Rescue vessels arrive in Nassau with survivors of a fire at sea. They were passengers on the vacation cruise of the Yarmouth Castle which caught fire at midnight and sank. Upwards of 80 are dead or missing in the worst sea disaster in American waters since the Morro Castle. Because of the disastrous fire in 1965 and the loss of both passengers and ship this prompted new laws regarding safety at sea. On November 13, 1965 shortly before 1:00 am a mattress stored too close to a lighting circuit in a storage room caught on fire. The ship's alarms did not sound and the ship's sprinkler system did not activate. The flames swept through the ships super structure at great speed and it was fed by the ship's natural ventilation system. The ropes used to lower life boats burned before the boats could be lowered. The halls of the ship were filled with fire and smoke, people squeezed through their port holes to escape the fire, some did not make it. Eighty-seven people went down with the ship, three rescued passengers later died at hospitals. The final death toll was 90 Rescue vessels arrive at Nassau's port, people standing at the railing as the ship pulls in. People disembarking from the ship, family and friends standing on the pier waiting for their loved one's to arrive. MCU Many of the rescued passengers disembarking from the ship, upwards to 80 others are missing and presumed dead. CU Lady appears to be in shock.