The lives of all but one of the 13 members were saved last night from the burning wreckage of the SS Bat Tiran, which exploded off a Greek island and shortly thereafter declared lost. The victim, the only non-Israeli aboard, was identified as the ship’s 43-year-old Yugoslavian petty officer. His body was taken off the flaming hulk when rescuers from Greek tugboats came to the scene.
The 2,500-ton freighter was en route from Yugoslavia with a cargo of materials including chemicals. Flames spread so fast as to engulf the life boats before there was time to lower them. The crew managed their escape via the self-floating dinghies, which were bobbing in the water and separating before the rescue seamen arrived to assemble the survivors. Five of the men were slightly injured.
The Bat Tiran, flying an Israeli flag, was still burning today as a team of Israeli experts left for Greece to investigate the incident. It is not yet known if the explosion was caused by internal combustion of the chemicals or by a foreign factor, although the former is believed to be the case.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
