SS Ourang Medan

In 1948, the Dutch freighter SS Ourang Medan, sent out SOS distress signals, claiming all officers and captain were dead on board, then left one last cryptic message in Morse code: "I die." Within hours a rescue ship arrived. Numerous attempts to signal anyone on board failed. Finally a rescue crew was sent on board to check for signs of life on the Medan. They were shocked by what they found.

Everyone on the Ourang Medan was dead. But what was more disturbing was their faces. They wore masks of terror, eyes gaping in wide eyed horror, staring at the sky. All the dead had their arms outstretched as if warding off some sort of evil. There was even a dead dog among the crew whose teeth were barred in a deaths growl.

A distinct chill was said to be felt in the boiler room where more bodies were found, despite the 110 F. degree temperature. It was decided that the ship would be towed back to port. As the crew readied the ship for transport, thick black smoke appeared out of the hull. The rescue crew quickly escaped the ship. In a matter of minutes, the Medan exploded and sank.

Stories began to surface about the mysterious death of the crew and the explosion. Hazardous Materials was one hypothesis. Some thought the Ourang Medan may have had potassium cyanide or other dangerous gases on board they were transporting.

It was believed that the captain and crew succumbed to poisonous gases and was asphyxiated. Then the salt water entered the ship and reacted to the chemicals causing an explosion. But this was only hypothesis.

Another theory is that a malfunction in the boiler room set off a chain of events that inevitably killed all on board through a fire and carbon monoxide poisoning. It is a fact that all died on the SS Ourang Medan, but what is not clearly understood is how they died and why the terrifying expressions were on their faces. Many paranormal theories abound.

One popular notion is that the ship was attacked by a UFO. Another theory is some darker entities were involved just prior to their deaths. The fact that the men's arms were outstretched and seemingly pointing at an unknown assailant leads some to believe that a supernatural event took place on board the SS Ourang Medan.

What killed the crew of the SS Ourang Medan? Ghosts? Aliens? Demons? Toxic Gases? Could something so frightening have made their hearts stop so suddenly? Whatever secrets were witnessed on board that day, one thing is certain, only the ghosts of the SS Ourang Medan have the answers, and those answers are locked away in Davy Jones' Locker at the bottom of the sea.

Copyright© Sylvia Zimmer © 2008

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