BOOZE CRUISE ENDS IN TRAGEDY; 135 DIED IN SUSPICIOUS SHIP FIRE

A popular ocean liner on a "booze cruise" between New York and Havana exploded in flames off the New Jersey Coast - ablaze from stem to stern.

The furious fire aboard the S.S. Morro Castles - described as a smoke-belching "hell ship" by a reporter - claimed 135 lives. The magnitude and speed of the of inferno pointed to arson, with the ship's radio operator eyed as a suspect. 

The partying was over. The heat and flames forced passengers and crew to leap overboard.

The smoldering vessel, which carried more than 500 people, was a total loss when it beached at Asbury Park, New Jersey. Investigators never established how the suspicious fire started.

Morro Castle's officers and crew proved ill-prepared and ill-trained for firefighting and lifesaving. There had been no boat drills.

Negligence and insubordination reigned, with crew members abandoning ship prematurely, and officers failing to issue orders. Only half the lifeboats were lowered while the others burned and buckled on Sept. 8, 1934.