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Show BRITISH WARSHIP BULWARK SUNK DISASTER OCCURS NEAR LON-DON, LON-DON, CALAMITY BEING DUE TO EXPLOSION. Most Appaling Catastrophe Suffered by the English Navy During the War, Only Fourteen of the Crew Being Saved. London. The British battleship Bulwark was blown up and sunk In the estuary of the Medway river at 7.53 o'clock Thursday morning. Between Be-tween 700 and 800 men were lost, including in-cluding Captan Guy Belater, her commander, com-mander, and all her officers. Only fourteen of her crew were saved. It is announced officially that the explosion explo-sion was interior and originated in the ship's magazine. The disaster is the most appalling the British navy has suffered in the war. It is even more of a shock than the loss of the Aboukir, Cressy and Hogue at the hands of a single submarine sub-marine in the North sea, for the Bulwark Bul-wark was destroyed from within destroyed de-stroyed utterly and instantly. The men aboard her had not a fighting chance for their lives. The band was playing aboard the Bulwark. Near her were anchored several other ships. The morning was calm and but for the presence of the battleship swinging at her anchoi chains there was nothing to suggest anything biit peace. Alongside the Bulwark was a lighter. From it were being loaded over the side of the 15,-OOCRon 15,-OOCRon battleship fresh ammunition stores for her 12-ineh and 6-inch guns. Suddenly a terrific explosion occurred oc-curred in the bowels of the ship. A great cloud of smoke arose, enveloping envel-oping the Bulwark and shutting her from sight. A great white flash of fire streaked through the black veil; the smoke cloud thickened and rolled out and upward. The great black curtain spread, and as it spread it began to lift When the spot which had been the Bulwark's Bul-wark's berth finally was visible a" malestrom of turbulent waters was all that marked the anchorage. That and the debris that littered the surface sur-face of the stream. The Bulwark was gone with all on board except the few mangled and struggling forms in the water. She sunk in three minutes min-utes from the time of the explosion. |