57 Killed In Seoul Crash

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31340, 10 April 1967, Page 13

57 Killed In Seoul Crash

(N.Z. Frets Association —Copyright) SEOUL, April 9. A twin-engined South Korean Air Force transport plane smashed into a Seoul slum area yesterday and officials said that 57 persons were killed—including all 14 aboard the plane and 43 on the ground.

They added that ten persons were missing and 30 were injured.

Rescue workers have given up hope for recovering any more bodies from the crash site.

The impact of the crash was so severe that some of the bodies were torn in pieces and it was almost impossible to determine identities, officials said.

United Press International said that it was the worst air disaster in Korean history. The crash occurred just before noon. Authorities said that the pilot apparently averted an even greater disaster.

The plane was plunging toward a Seoul high school filled with students about to leave for lunch, but it swerved suddenly and smashed into a church. Church Smashed

Only three persons were inside the church and they raced outside the structure when they heard the plane's roaring engines. Seconds later, the church was reduced to splinters. Korean Air Force spokesmen said that the pilot reported engine trouble shortly after taking off. He probably was trying to return to the Seoul airfield when the crash occurred. They said that because of the heavy rains his vision would have been restricted. . The Air Force officials be-

lieve the pilot mistook the high school for the airport. “It was as if the plane had tried to land over the school ground and suddenly switched off,” one officer said. Police said the toll was heavy because many residents of the Chung Ku Bong slum area stayed at home because of the rains. Toys and household belongings were scattered throughout the disaster area.

One witness told police that the plane exploded just before the crash. Firemen and other would-be rescuers had difficulty reaching the crash scene because of its hilltop location and narrow streets.