With the shattered hulk of the S.S. Patria lying on the bottom of the harbor, almost entirely submerged, the Palestine Maritime Patrol, aided by airplanes, today scoured the waters of the bay in a search for bodies of passengers drowned in yesterday’s explosion and sinking of the refugee ship.
The number of refugees missing had not yet been made public this afternoon, but it was ascertained that most of the refugees aboard had been rescued. Jewish leaders credited the relatively small loss of life to prompt action on the part of the Maritime Patrol and the harbor authorities.
With the Palestine Government’s plan to send the 1,771 refugees to an island colony for the duration of the war temporarily blocked by the explosion, Jewish leaders were wondering what attitude the Government would adopt now that the refugees had finally landed on Palestine soil after several months of wandering on the Danube and the Mediterranean in an effort to reach the Holy Land. The Government’s decision was expected to be made public soon.
No theory had yet been officially expressed to account for the explosion, which occurred yesterday morning as the ship was preparing to sail, in accordance with the Government’s policy, announced last Thursday, of removing illegal immigrants to an island colony for the duration of the war.
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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.
