FIVE BOMBS HIT HOSPITAL

Press, Volume LXXX, Issue 24237, 20 April 1944, Page 5

FIVE BOMBS HIT HOSPITAL

ELEVEN KNOWN DEAD; MANY TRAPPED RAID ON LONDON AND EAST ANGLIA (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 1 a.m.) LONDON, April 19. Thirteen German aircraft were destroyed in a raid after midnight on London and East Anglia. Five bombs straddled the main buildings of a London hospital in which there were 2000 patients. One ward was demolished, trapping many patients. A fierce fire broke out, badly damaging five wards. Two other wards were damaged by blast. So far it is known that four members of the hospital staff and seven patients were killed. The hospital’s A.R.P. workers were assisted by doctors, nurses, attendants, and police. Rescue squads were mobilised for . the grim task of extricating those trapped, many of whom were rescued. Some were badly injured. The police declared that the nurses were real heroines. Some, although injured, worked to get patients out. The search for patients is still going on, while crowds of relatives wait at the gates of the hospital. Ten persons were killed when high explosives fell in a London workingclass area. One raider which was shot down crashed on a house, demolishing it. Several persons are believed to be trapped under the debris. Deaths, injuries, and damage to buildings are reported from several other points. The Press Association’s aviation correspondent says that the enemy operated on a much larger scale than recently.