return to the ship because the current pushed the launch away. Passengers also claimed that some of the crewmen took advantage of the chaos to loot state rooms. When all of the boats were away, there were still people in the water and over 100 people left aboard the burning ship. Lakonia continued to burn fiercely and was rocked by violent explosions. Those who remained aboard flocked to the glass-enclosed Agora Shopping Centre at the stern of the ship. After several hours, the flames closed in on them, and they were forced to descend ropes and rope ladders into the ocean. The port and starboard gangways were lowered as well, and people walked down the gangways single file into the sea. Rescue At 3:30 a.m., four hours after the first distress call, the Argentine passenger ship Salta arrived on the scene. Salta, commanded by Captain José Barrere, had been on her way from Genoa, Italy to Buenos Aires. The British cargo ship Montcalm arrived half an hour later at 4:00 a.m. The majority of the survivors were saved by these two ships. Salta rescued 475 people and took aboard most of Lakonia'''s lifeboats. In the hours that followed, the Belgian ship Charlesville, the USA freighter Rio Grande, the British passenger ship Stratheden and the Panamanian freighter Mehdi all arrived to join the rescue. Each rescue ship launched boats to pluck survivors from the water. The United States Air Force sent four C-54 aircraft from the Lajes Field in the Azores. The planes dropped flares, lifejackets, life rafts and survival kits to people in the water. An RAF Avro Shackleton from Gibraltar criss-crossed the area, pinpointing boats and survivors and guiding rescuers to them. The rescue was hindered by the fact that Lakonia drifted for several miles during the evacuation. People in the water were dispersed over a area. Also, rescue ships were reluctant to get too near Lakonia because of the risk that her 500 tons of fuel oil could explode.Charlesville sent a lifeboat shortly after daybreak to rescue Captain Zarbis, who was spotted pacing the decks of his still-burning ship. Zarbis was the last person to leave Lakonia alive. Most of the survivors were taken to Madeira. Others, including Captain Zarbis, were taken to Casablanca. Aftermath The disaster killed a total of 128 people. 95 were passengers and 33 were crew. Only 53 people were killed in the actual