b , g g p
Debrawithhim.
“Comewithme!”heordered.Hehast-
ilyledthefamilyontothedeck.People
wererunningaround,someofthem
vomiting.Pandemoniumabounded.
AsthefamilyfollowedSpirotheysaw
whatawaitedthem.A lifeboatwasdan-
glingfromtheship,swayingwitheach
rollandthenswingingawayagainbya
coupleofmetres.
Someonehadplaceda doorripped
fromtheentrancetotheloungeoverthe
gapbetweentheshipandthelifeboat.To
getintothelifeboat,passengershadto
walkthismakeshiftgangplankacross
thechasmtotheseafarbelow.
RenétookMeganwhileDebraclam-
beredintothelifeboatandthenhanded
heracrosstheterrifyinggap.Raymond
hadalreadyskippedacrossthetempo-
rarybridgewithalltheagilityonemight
expectofa youngboy.
As thepassengers boarded,chief
officerStavrosNikolaidisandanother
officer,whowerebothalreadyinthe
lifeboat,tookcommand.Theywere
accompaniedbyseveralcolleagues,in-cludingtheship’soverweightcasino
dealer,AvgerinosTsaikas.
DebracouldseeRenéstandingonthe
deckoftheOceanos,lookingonhelpless-
ly.“Canmyhusbandcomeonboard?”
sheasked.
“No!”Nikolaidisbarked.“Womenand
childrenonly!”screamed the news in Greek to the chief
mate. “There’s water everywhere. We
have to abandon ship!”
With the help of his third engineer he
shut down the diesel generators that
powered the cruise liner. They then fled
upstairs, pausing in their cabins on the
way to collect their life jackets.
The ship was now running on a limited
store of power, with only bare essentials
such as emergency lighting and certain
oftheship’sinstrumentscapableof
working.
Bythetimetheyreachedthebridge
theircaptainwasthere.
“Getthecrewtostarthandingoutlife
jackets,”Avranasordered.“Justtellevery-
onethisis a precautionbecausewehave
someenginetrouble.Wemustabandon
ship,butI thinkwehavetimeandmaybe
wecanwaituntilhelparrives.Don’t
causepanicanddon’ttellanyonewhat
hashappened.”
Withthat,herantohiscabintotellhis
wife,Davina,andhis11-year-olddaugh-
ter,Fay,whatwashappening– andto
packa bag,justincase.
A
ROUND9.30pm,asDebra
andRenéwalkedthrough
thecasinoonthewayto
thelounge,a roulettetable
crashedoverontoitsside,
spillingchips.Somepassen-
gersstartedscreamingandeveryone
clutchedontowhatevertheycouldasthe
shiplurchedfromporttostarboardand
back.
“Iwanttogobackandcheckonthe
children,”Debrasaidanxiously.
Togethertheyhurriedtothecabin
wherethechildrenwerefastasleepin
theirbeds,althougheverylooseitemin
thecabinwaslyingstrewnonthefloor.
Crewmembersweredartingaround
outsideinthecorridors.
Oneofthestaffcalledout:“Grabyour
lifejacketsandgetupstairs!”
It didn’ttakethefamilylongtodiscov-
erfourlifejacketsinthecupboard.Lock-
ingthedoorbehindthem,thefamilyset
offalongthecorridor.
Suddenly,allthelightswentoff.
“We’regoingtodieinhere!”Debraex-
claimedinthedarkness.Asthedim
emergencylightscameon,theywere
abletofindtheirwaytothestairwell.
Afterarrivingintheloungetheywere
thereforsometimewhenSpiro,the
waiterwho’dbeensoattentivewhenthey
(Frompreviouspage)‘We’regoingtodie
here,’Debraexclaimed
inthedarkness
hiscolleaguesetabouttrying
tofreethelifeboatsoit couldbelowered
intothewater.Aftersomeeffortthe
wholelifeboatdroppedatoneend,but
withtheotherstillsuspendedbythe
bow.Passengersscreamedastheyfell
againsteachother.
Nikolaidisgrabbeda spannerand
smashedit againstthestuckdavit,trying
tofreethejammeddevice.Asitcame
free,thechainlashedthroughtheairand
rippedintohishand,almostseveringhis
thumb.
Withonehandincapacitatedand
gushingblood,hestartedthemotorof
thelifeboatandmanagedtosteerwith
theotherhand,overtheheavingwaves
andawayfromthefounderingOceanos.
OppositeDebrasatGailAdamsonwith
herthreechildren,17-day-oldJohnJnr,
theOceanos’youngestpassenger,Michael
(6)andSarah(2).Johnwaswrappedina
blanketandclutchedinthearmsofhis
terrifiedmother.
SandyLogan,anothermotherofthree,
wasclingingontoher10-month-old
daughter,Lisa.Hersons,Gareth(10)and
Jonathan(9),weresqueezedinsome-
whereawayfromher.Bothhadbeen
retchingthroughoutthetriponthelife-
boatandwerehangingontowhatever
theycouldastheboatwastossedvio-
lentlyabout.
Butwhena largewavehitJonathan
losthisgripandwassweptoverboard
intothedarkness.
“Mommy!Mommy!”hescreamed.
“Helpme!”
Astheboydrifteddownthesideofthe
boat,anelderlyChinesewomanreached
overandgrabbedthechild’slifejacket,
haulinghimbackonboard.boarded, grabbed Megan and pulled He and h
ABOVE LEFT: Passengers get ready to evacuate the
Oceanos aboard a lifeboat. ABOVE RIGHT: A helicopter
hovers over the ship, lifting passengers to safety.
ABOVE FAR RIGHT: Passengers huddle together under
blankets on deck while awaiting rescue.82 |
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