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There are brief reports of the tragedy in The Times (UK) of Jul 18 and
19 1947.
However, googling, I came across a fuller description in the Times of
India Relief Fund Appeal which is copied below.
The account was probably written soon after the disaster. There is no
reference to Goa or Goans. It reports that most people on the ship
belonged to the lower sections of society living in the Girgaum and
Parel. The people in those areas were largely mill workers. The poorer
Goans lived in Dobitalao. Moreover the ship was sailing from Bombay to
Rewas which is about the same latitude as Pune.
Curiously, the wreckage of the ship disappeared after the disaster and
resurfaced a decade later
Source: The Times of India Relief Fund at
http://www.timesrelieffund.com/ramdasship/ramdas.htm
Full text: Ramdas Ship Disaster (1947)
It is, perhaps, one of the worst shipping disasters off Bombay to date.
At 10 a.m. on July 17, 1947, the 406-ton Ramdas sank near Gull Island,
ten miles from the Colaba Point. Over 600 of the 700-odd people aboard
the ship, which was bound for Rewas, died. According to the master of
the ship, Sheikh Suleman Ibrahim, the ship had been streaming ahead at
slow speed after leaving at 8.05 a.m., when it was struck by a high
swell on the starboard side. All the passengers from this side rushed to
the port side, which became overweight and resulted in the ship listing
heavily and capsizing within the next two minutes. Strangely, there were
no reports of rough weather on the morning of July 17.
In fact, the port authorities had no inkling of the tragedy until a few
of the survivors swam to safety and reached the Sassoon Docks and
related the news at 3 p.m. After a two-day search operations by a fleet
of naval, Port Trust and mercantile vessels rounded up about 155
survivors. According to reports, most people travelling aboard Ramdas
belonged to the lower sections of society living in the Girgaum and
Parel areas of Bombay. Although an extensive search was launched by Port
authorities no wreckage was found immediately after the disaster.
However, a decade later, the wreckage resurfaced on its own at Ballard
Pier off Bombay Coast.
In order to help families who had to deal with the twin tragedies of
losing their dear ones as well as suffer economic hardships due to the
loss of their bread-winner, The Times of India Relief Fund set up a
special fund to collect donations for their benefit. The Governor of
Bombay also contributed Rs. 1,000 to the fund, which was disbursed
between government and local agencies involved in relief operations.
Photographs at http://www.timesrelieffund.com/ramdasship/ramdas.htm
Eddie Fernandes
===
Can anybody shed further light and take this discussion forward with
Arnold?
Thank you - bosco
On 31/07/06, Arnold Noronha [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Dear Frederick:
At the outset of the 1949 monsoons (If I remember correctly) , a
passenger
ship plying between Bombay and Goa went down in a terrible storm. The
apparently overloaded vessel sank off the Western coast, tragically
drowning
hundreds if not thousands returning to Bombay after their May
vacations.
Could anyone in your editorial staff or readership shed further light
on
this terrible calamity at sea?
Regards
Arnold
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