Last Voyage

It was late afternoon, and many of the 706 passengers of the Italian cruise ship Angelina Laura were straggling back after a day of shopping in the small seaport of Charlotte Amalie in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In the galley, preparations were under way for dinner. Then an electrical wire caught fire, perhaps ignited by some burning grease, and soon the flames were spreading uncontrollably through the luxury liner. Said Fireman Boyd Brown: "There were flames shooting out of every porthole on all decks. It was like a towering inferno."

Throughout the night the ship blazed, lighting up the harbor and causing the Cunard Countess to cast off from its neighboring berth and head for the safety of the open sea. The intense heat melted through the blue-and-white vessel's metal plating and buckled its superstructure. Authorities considered towing the ship out to sea in case it exploded, but were afraid it might capsize in the 20-m.p.h. wind. By early the next morning, the ship had settled to the bottom, its unsubmerged topsides still flaming. None of the passengers or 360 crewmembers were seriously hurt, but the vessel was destroyed.

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