MV Dara, 61 years after the disaster

Gulf News

In 1961, MV Dara, a ship owned by the British India Steamship Company, was hit by a massive explosion leading to a series of large fires on board.  The fire spread rapidly due to heavy wind and the captain ordered the evacuation of the ship. Panic-stricken passengers and crew rushed to lifeboats. Several ships nearby helped in the rescue. But it was not enough to save 238 passengers and crew who died in the disaster. Of the 565 survivors, many suffered severe burns and injuries.  The 61-year-old incident remains the worst maritime disaster in the modern history of the Gulf.   Read the full story here:   See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km  Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV  #UAEnews #DaraShip #MVDara

Transcript

00:00MV Dara, a ship owned by British India Steamship Company, started sailing in mid-fifties, taking

00:08round trips between the Arabian Gulf and the Indian subcontinent, starting from the north

00:13of the Gulf in Basra, Iraq, cruising through Bahrain, Dubai, Muscat, all the way to Karachi

00:21and Mumbai. The 120-metre-long, four-deck ship used to carry passengers who were either

00:30employed or living in these countries. Well, what happened to Dara and where it is now

00:36and why it was called the Titanic of the Gulf? The 61-year-old Dara incident remains the

00:45worst maritime disaster in the modern history of the Gulf. Despite all the tragedies associated

00:52with Dara, here are some positive sides of the laying wreck.

01:03So we are here in Amal Kawain and the Dara wreck is about seven kilometres from here

01:10on the beach. And these are the coordinates which show exact location of the wreck. Again,

01:16it's around seven kilometres from this place. The most important portion of the wreck still

01:23exists as it was, is the front end of the ship. And the middle portion of the ship is

01:30still there and the last portion of the ship is still there. So the ship wreck remains

01:39within 120 metres in about four main parts. The story of Dara's ending started on 7th

01:49April 1961 when she arrived at Dubai port. While embarking and disembarking passengers

01:57and unloading cargo, a sudden severe storm developed which prevented further work. At

02:03that time, Captain Charles Elson, the Dara's master, decided to take the ship out of harbour

02:10and sail for a few hours to get out of the stormy conditions. And when the storm became

02:16less intense, Captain Elson sailed back towards Dubai. On the way returning around 4.30am

02:26on 8th April, a massive explosion occurred on board. Because of the powerful explosion,

02:34238 passengers and crew tragically died in the disaster. Among them were 20 from the

02:42Emirates. The number of survivors were 565. Many of them suffered severe burns and injuries.

02:51On the next day, early morning, three British and American vessels managed to get firefighting

02:57parties on board to bring the fires under control. On the following day, 10th April

03:031961, Dara capsized, overturned upside down and sank here some seven kilometres off the

03:13Um Al Quwain beaches. The 61-year-old Dara incident remains the worst maritime disaster

03:21in the modern history of the Gulf. A voluntary diving team has worked with the Department

03:26of Tourism and Archaeology in Um Al Quwain over 10 months to complete the excavation

03:32of Dara by cleaning debris from the location where the ship sank.

04:02you

Category

Transcript

Recommended