Daily Event for July 9, 2005


July 9, 1961: The Save, a 259' liner owned by Companhia Colonial de Navegação of Portugal, exploded and burned. The Portuguese had been using the Save as a troop transport in Africa to try to prevent the move toward independence of Portuguese possessions. On the 6th she left Beira, Mozambique for the port of Quelemane, also in Mosambique, with 495 passengers and a crew of 54. On the 7th she ran headfirst into a violent storm and took shelter in the mouth of a river. However she soon broke her moorings and grounded on a sandbar. The captain managed to free her the next day, but on the 9th she was run aground again by heavy seas. Soon after this munitions in the forward hold exploded. The ship burned so quickly there was little chance of escape. In all 243 passengers and 16 of the crew died. The ship was declared a total loss.

© 2005 Michael W. Pocock
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