THE SINKING OF MV DARA
My late father, who worked in the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) from the
early 1940s until 1970, told me about the sinking of the MV DARA.
It was a Dubai-based passenger liner, which was built in England in
1948. It traveled mostly between the Persian Gulf and the Indian
subcontinent carrying cargo, mail and expatriate passengers who were
employed in the Gulf States. It sank in the Persian Gulf on April 8,
1961, as a result of a powerful explosion that caused the deaths of 238
persons, making it the second worst sinking of a ship in the history of
seafaring, after the Titanic.
My father told me that one of the survivors was a Goan woman from
Aldona, who was employed in Kuwait at the time. Everyone knew her by her
new nickname ‘Ms DARA.’ Perhaps Cecil Pinto could throw some light on
this woman. It would also be nice if we could know the number of Goans
that perished in this unfortunate incident along with their names, if
possible.
Moi-mogan,
Domnic Fernandes
Anjuna, Goa
Mob: 9420979201
* * *
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