Читать книгу Deeper into the Darkness онлайн

104 страница из 184

Charles Courtney had his book Unlocking Adventure published in 1951 by Robert Hale Ltd, London, and it narrates a vivid, dramatised and possibly largely fictional account of the salvage attempt on the wreck that was located in ‘350 feet’ of water. The wreck was said to have been entered 26 times and gold recovered, by opening the safes down on the wreck, as grabs couldn’t reach them without dynamiting. Much of the dramatic account is unbelievable – such as when it is narrated that divers entered the room of the commander of the Hampshire: as the steel door was opened, the decomposed bodies of two British officers were said to have been found seated at a table in the airtight room. (The vessel is in fact upside down so this is incorrect.) As water swirled into the room, the bodies were said to have risen from chairs and, drawn by suction, floated past Courtney and vanished in the framework of the sunken ship. (Such a large compartment in a ship would never have remained airtight at that depth underwater for so long.)