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Show DUTCH STEAMERS WERE TORPEDOED Dutch Shipping Council Reports Re-ports Result of Findings in Sinking of the Palembang and Tubantia. ACT WAS DELIBERATE Both Ships Motionless When Explosions Took Place Torpedoes Were Meant to Hit Liners. Amsterdam, April 12, via London, 6-14 a. m. The Dutch shipping council coun-cil which was entrusted by the government gov-ernment with the official Investigation into the sinking of the Dutch steamships steam-ships Palembang and Tubantia has Issued the report of its findings. With regard to the Palembang the report Bays: , "Three explosions took place. The first was caused by the explosion at some distance of a drifting mine which was fired upon by a British torpedo boat destroyer. After the explosion ex-plosion the Palembang remained undamaged. un-damaged. The second explosion was caused by a torpedo, fired at short range, which hit the Palembang. This is established beyond doubt by the unanimous statement of tho witnesses who saw the track of the torpedo. It could not have been fired by the British Brit-ish torpedo boat destroyer because the torpedo passed some meters in front of the latter vessel. It Is possible pos-sible that the torpedo was meant for tho destroyer, but, missing it, hit the Palembang. "The third explosion was also a torpedo The first mate of the ship clearly saw its track about six lengths away on the starboard. This torpedo was aimed at the Palembang because the British torpedo boat destroyer was then a great distance away. "The definite statements of crew being be-ing confirmed by the fact that no other drifting mines were observed and the Palembang, at the time of the second and third explosions was motionless mo-tionless and there was therefore no possibility of a collision with an anchored an-chored mine. Even supposing that the Palembang was carried along by the current, It must bo observed that tho current was nearly duo south so that a mine would have hit the ship on the port side whereas tho explosion took place on the starboard. Report on the Tubantia. With regard to tho Tubantia tho report says: "The ship was preparing to cast anchor at 2.20 a. m. when she was hit and a severe explosion took place In the coal bunkers on tho starboard side. The explosion caused a hole ex- itnuinb nuui mu uuuuiu iu luti Buei- ter deck. Witnesses noticed a stream on the water approaching the Tubantia Tuban-tia at great speed direct to the point where the explosion occurred. "From investigations made by experts ex-perts It is clearly shown that the pieces pie-ces of metal In the Tubantia boats came from a Schwartzkopf torpedo. Statements of witnesses and of experts ex-perts prove that tho explosion was caused by a torpedo fired from some distance by a submarine or a torpedo boat without warning. In view of the fact that t no other vessel was in tho vicinity, It Is evident that the torpedo tor-pedo waa meant for the Tubantia. "That no lives was lost was due merely to the fact that no passengers had cabins near the spot where the ship was hit." |