The Mountain Eagle
WHITESBURG WEATHER

80 years ago this week …





 

 

… the front page of The Mountain Eagle carried news of a fire aboard the SS Morro Castle which on September 8, 1934 killed 135 of the 549 passengers and crew members who were en route on the U.S. luxury liner from New York City to Havana, Cuba. The fire began in a storage locker about 2:30 a.m. on September 8 while the ship was sailing off Long Beach Island. Within 20 minutes, all power was lost and passengers and crew were faced with being burned to death or jumping into a storm-ravaged Atlantic Ocean. In the photo above, thousands of people gathered along the beach at Asbury Park, N.J., to view the smouldering ruins of the steamship. (AP Photo)


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