Burutu Passenger Casualty - C.K. Wood

Hereford Times 12th October 1918

ON THE BURUTU

HEREFORDHSIRE OFFICER'S SON FEARED DROWNED

The sinking of the Elder Dempster Steamer Burutu in collision at sea on Thursday week has brought anxiety which there is only too much reason to fear will become a bereavement to a well known Herefordshire family.

Among the passengers on board was Mr C.K. Wood, youngest son of Colonel C K Wood of the Venn. Marden secretary of the Herefordshire Territorial Force Association and as up to the time of writing no definite news of him had been received, hope of his safety is very slender indeed and the worst is feared. Mr Wood was on his way home on leave from Nigeria, where he occupied an important position in the Civil Service. The Burutu, a steamer of 3,902 tons, was bound for England from West Africa with a cargo of palm oil and kernels as well as a complement of passengers, when it collided with another British steamer and keeled over and sank in ten minutes, earlier accounts of the disaster led to the belief that the loss of life was comparatively small, but subsequent reports from trustworthy sources unfortunately show that it will be much greater than at first supposed. The victims are now estimated at between 170 and 200. Only one boat was successfully launched and the survivors number 50 and unfortunately Mr Wood’s name does not appear in the list of the saved.