1963: DISASTER AT SEA The disastrous end of a gay holiday cruise as the Creek liner Lakonia lies abandoned at sea; blazing from stem to stern. More than a hundred persons are dead or missing. 896 were rescued; picked up from drifting lifeboats or plucked from the sea. In London; the first survivors were bitter over safety measures aboard ship and the actions of some crew members. The Captain denied the charges; saying there was no panic and that most emergency equipment was in good order.