SukritiThe Fateful Day
In 1923, a trip was assigned in the name of O-5 from the naval base at Coco Solo to the Panama Canal. They were supposed to leave and finish this journey as soon as possible. At first, it looked like just all the previous trips but that wasn’t it as this trip was going to be the one, every member of the crew would tell to their kids and later grandkids as a story to be remembered.
Worse Weather
The early morning of October 28th brought the bad weather with itself. One trouble was leading to another. And while they were scheduled to reach the Limon Bay, they were sailing up and down somewhere in unknown seas. The crew soon realized the reason for not reaching at the destined place yet.
Lost Connection
Unfortunately, the contact with the head office was disturbed and they were lost in the middle of the sea. It was just the beginning of the sad events that were about to take place. As if losing track of the way wasn’t bad enough that there was a ship sailing right in their direction. The whole team was unaware of the ship approaching in their direction.
The Collision
At 6:30 a.m., the United Fruit Company’s steamer, the S.S. Abangarez collided with the O-5. The accident caused a 10-foot gap next to the control room, on the side of the starboard. The worst thing happened when one of the ballast tanks stopped working. The steamer itself remained unharmed.
A Horrifying Scene
The O-5 submarine staggered in the port’s direction but it was sinking and the navy officers knew that this submarine will not make it till the shore. The ship was sinking in the 42-feet deep water and there was no way to stop that from happening.
Lucky Officers
When the accident took place, eight men were working close to the topside and were lucky enough to get to the steamer. These eight people were rescued but twelve men were still missing and with every passing moment, the hopes of anyone surviving the collision were decreasing.