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Carl Jansson’s April 17, 1912 letter
to his family states:
“The big boat sank with a
great explosion and the only thing to do was to jump
into the water. ...We were two Swedish boys, I
myself and a journalist named August Suderssou
[Andersson] from Ystad. We fought side by side and
finally found a raft, torn loose from the ship which
we clung firmly to. …… wild struggle …….there were
only 11 alive.” (An alternate translation
of this letter appears in Voyage magazine
#12).
August Andersson interview, Nordstjernan, New
York, April 23, 1912:
“I and a few friends were thrown
up on the just lowered lifeboat, which was cast
loose in the water. ….. After about half an hour
about fifty of us manage to get up in the boat which
was still filled with water……. Only twelve of us
were left of the 150(?) who had clung fast in the
beginning. …… We left our dear water-filled and
damaged craft with three dead bodies that we had not
thrown overboard.”
Despite a few unusual statements,
Andersson's and Jansson's description fits perfectly
Collapsible A, whose surviving passengers were later
picked up by Fifth Officer Lowe in lifeboat #14.
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