1948: Many ships responded to the desperate Morse code messages from the Dutch freighter Ourang Medan. The ship was found adrift off Indonesia with all of its crew dead. The boarding party found the entire crew "frozen, teeth baring, gaping at the sun." Before the ship could be towed to a home port, the ship exploded and sank. The reason for the deaths are still unexplained today. The entire episode is apocryphal (see article). [1]dipetik dari http://www.gettysburgghosts.net/ourangmedan.htm :
In February 1948, distress calls were picked up by numerous ships near Indonesia. The SOS calls came from the Dutch freighter SS Ourang Medan. The signals claimed, "All officers including captain are dead lying in chartroom and bridge. Possibly whole crew dead." This message was followed by indecipherable Morse code then, "I die."
Within hours of the first distress signals, the first rescue ship arrived on the scene. Upon arrival, the rescue vessel tried to hail the Ourang Medan but there was no response to their hand and whistle signals. A boarding party was sent to the ship and what they found was astonishing. All the crew and officers of the Ourang Medan were dead, their eyes open, faces looking towards the sun, arms outstretched and a look of terror on their faces. Even the ship's dog was dead, found snarling at some unseen enemy. When nearing the bodies in the boiler room, the rescue crew felt a chill though the temperature was near 110°F.
The decision was made to tow the ship back to port. As the ship was prepared to be towed, smoke began rolling up from the hull. The rescue crew left the ship and barely had time to cut the tow lines before the Ourang Medan exploded and sank.
What happened the the crew of the Ourang Medan? Was it a UFO? Some other paranormal event that scared everyone to death? There is some speculation that the Ourang Medan was carrying illegal chemical weapons (this was post WWII). Could something they were secretly transporting leaked, killing everyone aboard?
Teori: (dipetik dari; http://www.answers.com/topic/ourang-medan )
Unsecured Cargo of Hazardous Materials
Bainton and others hypothesize that the Ourang Medan might have been involved in smuggling operations of chemical substances such as
potassium cyanide and nitroglycerin. According to these theories, sea water would have entered the ship's hold, reacting with the cargo to release toxic gases, which then caused the crew to succumb to asphyxia and/or poisoning. Later, the sea water would have reacted with the nitroglycerin, causing the reported fire and explosion.Gaddis puts forward the theory that an undetected smoldering fire or malfunction in the ship's boiler system might have been responsible for the shipwreck. Escaping carbon monoxide would have caused the deaths of all aboard, with the fire slowly getting out of control, leading to the vessel's ultimate destruction.
Paranormal Phenomena
The story has appeared in various magazines and books on Forteana, beginning with a 1953 article in Fate Magazine. Authors such as Jessup speculate that the crew might have been attacked by UFOs or paranormal forces prior to their deaths. Circumstantial evidence cited by these sources includes the apparent absence of a natural cause of death, the reportedly terrified expressions on the faces of the deceased, and rumors that some of the dead were "pointing" towards an unknown enemy.
Bacaan lanjutan:
1. Edwards, Frank. "Strangest of All", Fate Magazine, June 1953.
2. Jessup, Morris K. (1955). The Case For the UFO. Citadel Press, New York.
3. Gaddis, Vincent (1965). Invisible Horizons. Ace Books, Inc., New York. ISBN 0441371779.
4. Raybin Emert, Phyllis (1990). Mysteries of Ships and Planes. Tom Doherty Associates, Inc.,
New York. ISBN 0812594274.
5. Bainton, Roy. "A Cargo of Death", Fortean Times, September 1999, pp. 28.
6. Winer, Richard (2000). Ghost Ships. Berkley. ISBN 0425175480.
7. http://www.slightlywarped.com/crapfactory/awesomemysteries/ourangmedan.htm
5. Bainton, Roy. "A Cargo of Death", Fortean Times, September 1999, pp. 28.
6. Winer, Richard (2000). Ghost Ships. Berkley. ISBN 0425175480.
7. http://www.slightlywarped.com/crapfactory/awesomemysteries/ourangmedan.htm
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