AERIAL HORROR.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 32, 7 February 1934, Page 5

AERIAL HORROR.

LINER WRECKED.

TEN PASSENGERS PERISH. CRASH INTO WIRELESS MAST. Britain and *he Continent were shocked by the disaster in December at Ruysselede, Belgium, in which a British Imperial Airways passenger 'plane was wrecked. It was a disaster of fog, a sudden crash into a 930 ft wireless mast, fire and terrible death to ten people. The air liner The Apollo, en route from Brussels to London, burst into flames after the crash. Eight passengers, the pilot and wireless operator were burned to death. A tragic coincidence is that the scene of the disaster at Ruysselede (25 miles from Ostend) was within a few miles of where the Imperial Airways linef City of Liverpool caught fire and crashed last March with the loss of 15 lives. The cause of the fire was a mystery. Gallant Rescue Efforts Fail. Heroic efforts by the staff of the Euysselede Wireless Station to save the passengers and crew of the wrecked air liner were foiled by the intense heat after the 'plane burst into flames. Sixteen_of the operators were burned on the face and arms in their frantic rescue bids. The station was put out of action, and the damage was estimated at 1,000,000 francs. Employees at the wireless station were convinced that all the passengers were killed in the crash before the 'plane caught fire. When they dashed to the scene they heard no cry or sound from the wreckage. The 'plane was flying low at considerable speed when it hit the 930 ft steel wireless mast—the highest in the world—which was cut clean in two and fell with a great crash. The staff at the wireless station post office had amazing escapes from death when the roof of the building came hurtling down on them. A number were injured, and were taken by ambulance to hosBruges. - : ....

No Chance of Escape. After hitting the wireless mast the 'plane crashed to the ground and burst into flames. There was no chance of escape for any of the passengers or crew, and the bodies were incinerated. The 'plane was reduced to a mass of blazing wreckage in a few moments. The Apollo lay a twisted mass of metal and burned debris. The bodies were taken from the wreckage and placed in a row a few yards from the spot where they died, covered from the gaze of curious eyes. Owing to their injuries the identification of the victims was very difficult. Belgian peasants gathered round the wreckage, and women were in tears. A graphic story of the crash was given by an official of the Euysselede Wireless Station. Driven Back By Flames. "It was horrible," he said. "The 'plane crashed at full speed into the wireless mast, which was broken in halves; then

it fell to the ground like a wounded bird and burst into flames. We rushed out with fire-extinguishers, but we could not get within 50ft of the 'plane. A sudden burst of flame forced us to flee for our lives. There was nothing we could do, and we stood by and watched the 'plane being completely burned out until nothing but a tangled mass of wreckage remained. When the disaster occurred the fog was extremely thick, and visibility was next to nothing."