Negotiations which may enable some 1,500 European refugees, including 150 Jews, now stranded at the French African port of Dakar to proceed to their destinations to Brazil and the United States are now in progress between the French and British governments, it was reliably learned here today.
The refugees sailed on Jan. 15 from Marseille aboard the 12,000-ton French steamer Alsina, headed for South America. While the steamer was on the high seas, it received orders on Jan. 23 to put in at Dakar, the French authorities apparently fearing that the Alsina might be intercepted and seized by the British navy, as was the case with her sister ship, the Mendoza.
Reports reaching Lisbon from Dakar said many of the passengers on the Alsina had taken sick because of the prevalence of tropical fever and their undernourishment. The office of the Joint Distribution Committee in Lisbon is in touch with the situation. All the refugees have valid visas for North and South American countries.
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