Word: lakonia
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Dates: during 1964-1964
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Screams in the Air. At Lajes Air Force Base in the Azores, the U.S.'s 57th Air Rescue Squadron also swung into action. Shortly after the Lakonia's last message was received, four C-54 rescue planes swung out over the Atlantic toward the flaming vessel, 3 hr. 30 min. flying time away. The planes were loaded with 42 life rafts that could carry 600 persons, 400 blankets, food and survival packages, flares of 300,000 candlepower, and six paramedics who could jump into the ocean to help passengers, if necessary...
...board the Lakonia, the nightmare was all too real. With the loudspeaker system not operating, there was near-anarchy on deck. Officers issued contradictory instructions, and crewmen milled around unsure of what to do. Screams filled the air in half a dozen different languages. Unable to comprehend the crew's cries, passengers took charge of small groups and tried to lead them through the thick smoke to their boat stations. Pressed against the rail were scores of passengers in every variety of dress-nightgowns, pajamas, tramp costumes and evening clothes...
...picked up 478 people from the sea, cognac and blankets were passed out to the shivering survivors, but the crush was so great that soon there was not enough of either to go around. The British aircraft carrier Centaur picked up 55 bodies, then dispatched a helicopter to the Lakonia to see if anyone was still on board; from the vessel, a British officer reported that the liner was a burnt-out hulk. As the rescue ships sped from the scene toward the port of Funchal in Madeira, the ruined liner was taken into tow by the Norwegian salvage...
Captain's Retort. In Funchal, many of the survivors bitterly accused the Lakonia's crew of cowardice, panic and incompetence in the face of the disaster. One woman charged that she found a Greek crewman looting her cabin when she went to get her life jacket, and another claimed that a sailor had made a pass at her. Undoubtedly, many of the accusations were the result of passenger terror and hysteria and the fact that few of the crew spoke English, thus causing their intentions to be misconstrued. But it was evident that the fire-fighting procedures were...
...denied charges of misconduct. "There was no panic aboard my ship," he said, "neither among the crew nor among the passengers. My crew did not try to jump into the lifeboats ahead of the passengers." But the Greek Line ordered Zarbis and his officers to report immediately to the Lakonia's home port of Piraeus, where the inquiry will be conducted...