The ship is believed to have sent a distress signal in the Strait of Malacca, where Flight MH370 disappeared in 2014.
According to Mirror, the entire crew and captain of the SS Ourang Medan were found dead in a state of “extreme terror” with no visible wounds on their bodies.
The SS Ourang Medan of the Netherlands.
The incident occurred when the Dutch ship SS Ourang Medan sent a distress signal in the Strait of Malacca in 1948. This is also the location where Flight MH370 vanished in 2014.
A rescue ship located 80 kilometers away received the distress signal and quickly arrived on the scene.
According to declassified CIA documents, the distress signal stated: “Everyone is dead, including the captain… I am the only survivor…”
The document, prepared by C.H. Marck Jr., assistant to CIA Director Allen Dulles in 1959, noted: “A moment later, the signal resumed, but with only one phrase: ‘I am dying’, followed by silence.”
Crew members on the ship died mysteriously.
The CIA believes that what happened on the SS Ourang Medan could provide clues to decode the mysterious disappearances of ships in the Strait of Malacca.
Upon boarding the SS Ourang Medan, rescue personnel were horrified by the scene before them. “There were no survivors on the ship,” one rescue worker stated, according to CIA documents.
“The captain died in the control room. The bodies of the crew were scattered everywhere. A radio operator, who likely sent the distress signal, was found dead while working.”
The only commonality among the faces of all the crew members was their wide-open eyes and gaping mouths, as if they had encountered something terrifying. A dog on the ship was found dead, its mouth still bared as if threatening someone.
The rescue team intended to tow the ship back to port for investigators, but “just at that moment, a large column of smoke and flames erupted.” This forced everyone to abandon the ship.
The ship exploded before sinking into the sea.
A loud explosion occurred shortly after, causing the ship to sink to the ocean floor. It wasn’t until six years later, in 1954, that this tragedy was mentioned again.
Some have questioned whether the ship actually existed, as maritime records do not mention the SS Ourang Medan or provide data indicating that the rescue ship Silver Star attempted a rescue.
To explain the mysterious deaths of the crew, some hypothesize that the Dutch ship may have been carrying a highly toxic mixture of potassium cyanide and nitroglycerin.
This toxic gas leaking out could have caused the crew to die in a state of terror. However, it remains unclear what caused the ship to explode.
These were all “prohibited” substances, transported illegally during a time when international tensions were high following World War II, and could have caused a catastrophic incident if mishandled.
Potassium cyanide could have been the cause of the crew’s deaths, as it easily reacts with acids to form cyanide acid, a volatile poison.
Nitroglycerin is a liquid that is highly explosive upon impact, a key ingredient in gunpowder. This could have been the reason the ship exploded, leaving no evidence behind.
Ultimately, after more than 70 years, there is still no official conclusion regarding what happened to the SS Ourang Medan. The mystery surrounding the tragedy of the “ghost ship” Ourang Medan has inspired many works of art and films based on this true event. To this day, it remains one of the greatest mysteries in maritime history.
