Sanatorium Hit By Avalanche

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32274, 17 April 1970, Page 13

Sanatorium Hit By Avalanche

(N.Z.PA.-Reuter—Copyright)

ST GERVAIS (France), April 16.

Sixty-nine persons—most of them children—were missing near St Gervais today after an avalanche of snow and rocks crashed into a tuberculosis sanatorium in darkness.

The avalanche swept down on a 200-yard front and rescue workers said they were faced with a wall of rock up to 10 yards thick as they dug into the ruins.

Fifty-six boys aged between about four and 15 years were sleeping in the three sanatorium buildings when the snowraced down just after midnight, police said. Twenty adults were also in the buildings—one of which was hit by a small avalanche last week. Seven injured persons were pulled out of the ruinsj left by the avalance. which! swept away most of one wing of the sanatorium annex and two adjoining chalets. The avalanche came after heavy snowfalls in the Alps* and weather experts said that: conditions reminded them of those at the time of the Vai; d’lsere disaster two months ago in which an avalanche killed 42 persons. The Associated Press re-j ported that massive police,] troop and volunteer forces j rushed to the site with rescue equipment ranging from bull-1

dozers to avalanche dogs. It: appeared to be the worst tragedy of an avalanchestricken mild winter in the European Alps in which at: least 80 persons have already died. A small avalanche last week carried away part of the roof of the building hit early today. It was thought then that the avalanche potential was over. <

The sanatorium has beds for 200 children. It is run by the Roman Catholic order of the Sisters of the Very! Holy Saviour, who also run the nearby establishment which treats adults, but which was not struck by the snow.

There are several other sanatoria on the plateau, but they also were spared. As daylight broke, rescuers reported that there were certainly some persons alive in the buried building. They could hear speech and shouts from under the snow and rock.

Officials flying over the

t area this morning by helit[ copter reported that another ■ great mass of snow was > perched precariously on the t mountainside. If it should r break loose it might break over a sanatorium building . adjacent to the one hit durf Ing the night. Abandonment .of the endangered pavilion [ was ordered.