HIT CHIMNEY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 290, 7 December 1937, Page 10

HIT CHIMNEY.

PLANE IN FLAMES.

ELEVEN LIVES LOST. NUNS PRAY BY WRECKAGE. (f»|ipi-lnl.--njr Air Mall.) T.nXDON', November IS. "Tl \vn« nbrinii* tin- pilot wns in f rouble. Hi- was riivlinjr nrnuiid. trying to land. Then, wiili a terrible rrnsli. ono of (ho strilrTc a (nil chimney of n. lirick fnrtorr. I'rnct irnllv the whole nf the wing win torn off nnil tho machine plunged to tin- ground in the brickviinl, whom it iininodinti'ly bur.-t into ilniiKw. ,,

Tn flvirili nn ryr wifnes* described Iho rin-h of fho Bol'_'mii nir liner whiMi 11 lc>*t tlirir Hvim. including Mvo nii'inliiMs of (In- (liwsc fiunilv on their wny to ntl.-n.l (lie wedding of Prinro Lndwig to Mi-°st Miirenrrt Cninplicll rii'ildcx, diiu-liicr of Sir Auckland (ieddes. Dead Passengers. Tho flond |>nsscn;;ern wore: TVinco Ooorgp, :il vrni-old limnd T)uko of FTps.ic: hi.-j wifr. Princess Cof-ilo. 20-year-old (irnnd lliichess of Hpssc. a eotinin of the Duchess of Ki'iit; his niothi-r. Princess Klonnor, Dowager (.'rand Dw-he-w, m> (hlh» was Queen Victoria'h griiiiddnuglitpr) ; hi.s two children, Pi'inep Luilwig, ngwl six, and Print'P Aldcnlmch, nged four: l.ina fliilin. a maid; Karon von IJiedesu'l zu Eiwpiibiicli, gentleman in -waiting; Herr Martenw, u German glider pilot and engineer. "Tlie crash was heard all ovpr tho dmtrict and within minutes gendarmes and fire fighters wore on the spot, ,, continucil tlic eye-witness. "Nothing could bo done, though, for within a few seconds the whole wreckage wna in flames. No one could get near." Throughout the flight, tho pilot of the neroplnne had been talking to the Brussels radio operator. As the machine crept warily through tho fog he gave Brussels niinute-by-minute reports of his position. Then came the last message: "I am coining into Ostend aerodrome . . ." While the transmitter was still switched on. the Brussels operator heard tho terrific eranh, imd then silence. Only Obstruction. Aerodrome officials, 80 miles away, guessed what had happened, for the factory chimney is the only obstruction near the aerodrome. The machine was also in touch with Ostcnd and «ni receiving weather report* from there until a few seconds before the crash. Tho pilot. M. Lnmbotte. was one of the most experienced in the S. A.B.K.N*. A. (Belgian air lino) service. The wireless operator was M. C'ourtois and the mechanic Nt. Lansnian. For two hours nfter the crash the wreckage was stiH burning, and in the twilight a party of nuns gathered round the red-hot, smouldering metalwork and j prayed before the bodies had boon removed. They were hunting among the charred wreckage for jewellery worth more than £12.000 next day at the scene of the cra*h. It i» 'believed the jewellery included a diamond diadem, two peaTl neeklacee and valuable rings and bracelets. Some of it was found. RicbMt Child. Blue-eyed Princee* Johanna Marina of Hesse, ajred 14 months, only member of the jrrand duke's family who was not killed in the disaster, was revenled an the richest child in Germany. She played happily in hor cot at the great lonely summer residence of Wolfgartcn, in Darmstadt, could not know that the household and the town of Darmstadt were in tho deepest mourning, or that «he had inherited the bulk of her dead father's'fortune. The new Grand Duke Ludwij?, just arrived, from London, stood hand in hand with his bride in the mortuary of Ostend Civil Hospital. He and hi» princess, with face* •white and drawn, looked rtt the five candle-lit coffins of members of the house of He&se, then the young bridegroom broke down. Hβ sobbed aloud in Englkh: "My poor people, my poor people." His bride clutched hi* arm and softly said: "Ludwig, I^udwig."