- £375.00
1902 INDIA. A cover sent to England with a ½A (the other stamp washed off) cancelled Oorgaum 10 SE 02 that was on the train from Madras to Bombay that fell into a river at Mangapatnam, 205 miles from Madras, when a bridge collapsed during heavy floods on September 11. At least 62 people died in the incident. The mails ended up in the river and when recovered, on arrival in England, a violet boxed ‘DAMAGED BY IMMERSION / IN SEA WATER’ cachet was applied with ‘SEA’ crossed out. A London SP 29 02 arrival c.d.s. is on the front of the cover. This cachet was widely used in maritime accidents from 1893, but only seen used this once on train crash mail. The cachet is faint but clearly legible. A rare cover from this incident.
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