FIFTY HOURS AT SEA Walmer, Kent. At 11.55 a.m. on 8th May, 1965, the coastguard informed the honorary secretary that there was a fire on board the s.s. Yousuf Baksh of Karachi, in her cargo of jute. Observation was kept on the vessel after she anchored three miles off Deal. At 5 p.m. it was clear from the shore that the condition aboard the vessel had deteriorated. The ship's boats were hurriedly being lowered.

One of them drifted away towards the Goodwin sands. The life-boat Charles Cooper Henderson, on temporary duty at the station, was launched at 5.31 in a fresh to strong west-south-westerly wind and a moderate sea. It was high water.

The life-boat went alongside the Yousuf Baksh and rescued eleven of the crew. Two members of the life-boat crew were put aboard a ship's boat which made for the shore with the life-boat to land the survivors. Another member of the life-boat crew was left aboard the Yousuf Baksh to help the crew of the German tug Hermes fight the fire. The life-boat returned to stand by. Several private boats also put out to give assistance and 48 survivors were landed from all the rescue boats in the first hour.

There had been a crew of 59 on board the Yousuf Baksh, including the captain's wife and two children. Eventually all the crew and most of the officers were ordered to leave their ship. The captain, two officers, and two life-boatmen remained on board. The fire gradually became worse. The ship was ablaze from bow to stern. She was towed by the Hermes into Sandwich bay and beached. All this time the life-boat was only a few yards away, as firemen were lowered into the burning vessel by a helicopter from the R.A.F.

station at Mansion.

The life-boat stood by all night and at 10 a.m. on the 9th May she radioed that she was returning to her station to land the captain's wife and two young daughters who had spent the night on board the tug Hermes, The life-boat went back to the burning ship, to stand by for yet another night. At 7.9 a.m. the life-boat towed the motor boat Rose Marie, which had been helping, back to the shore as she had lost her propeller.

The sea conditions improved considerably as the hours went by, and when the firemen had gained control of the fire it was decided at 5 p.m. on the loth May that the life-boat could return to her station. She reached this at 7.7 p.m., having been on service continuously for approximately 50 hours.

At 11.57 p.m. on the nth May the coastguard reported that a fireman had been badly injured by a fall on board the Yousuf Baksh and the life-boat was launched at 12.5 a.m. with a doctor on board. Later a report was received that the fireman had died. The life-boat landed his body at 1.15 a.m..