Nova Scotia's evacuation, rescue, and Italian war graves

Nova Scotia rolled to port, caught fire, and sank by the bow within ten minutes. Only one lifeboat was launched, although life rafts and wreckage supported people in the water. A Portuguese rescue ship reached the area the next day and encountered hundreds of bodies while recovering Italian internees, guards, crew, and other passengers. Two further survivors reached safety separately, including an Italian who drifted for a fortnight before coming ashore in Natal. Bodies that washed ashore were buried in Durban's Hillary suburb, forming the Italian military cemetery associated with the disaster.