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Caption: "Rescue of Life Raft from Wrecked Steamer Valencia." Photograph showing a boat crew about to rescue 18 people on a life raft. On Monday, January 22, 1906, the passenger liner Valencia ran aground on a reef during a storm off the southwestern coast of Vancouver Island (an area notorious for ship wrecks). Although the shore was only about fifty yards away, heavy seas and rock cliffs prevented the passengers and crew from making their way safely to land. Circumstances prevented rescue vessels from coming to the stricken ship's aid until Wednesday January 24th. The steamship City of Topeka rescued 18 men on a life raft, shown in this photograph. The official death toll was 136: seven officers, 33 crewmen, and 96 passengers (including seventeen women and eleven children -- all of the women and children on board perished). Only 37 people survived the wreck.
Date: 1/24/1906