French planes job Thatcher search

Press, 15 January 1982, Page 6

French planes job Thatcher search

NZPA-Reuter Paris French Air Force planes pressed on yesterday with a desert search for Mark Thatcher, son of the British Prime Minister, who has been missing for six days on a trans-Sahara car rally. Organisers of the Paris-to-Dakar rally said the search was temporarily abandoned at nightfall the "previous day because of darkness. In London. Mrs Thatcher broke down and wept yesterday as she told reporters: “I am sorry, there is no news. I am very concerned.”

Her husband. Denis, flew to Algeria yesterday to join in the search for Mark and thetwo others who were with him in a Peugeot 504 with him. The French President (Mr Francois Mitterrand) sent three French Air Force planes to join the search. Rally organisers described news reports of sightings as “pure speculation" and said they had no new information. Agence France-Presse re-

ported from Algiers that Mark and his co-driver and mechanic were not among seven other missing participants in the rally who have been found so far. according to the Algerian new’s agency. A.P.S.

Earlier. the Algerian agency had reported that two of the Thatcher team had been found safe and sound. without saying whether one of them was Mark.

Denis Thatcher telephoned his wife yesterday from the town of Tamanrasset near the border with Mali where the Algerian air and land search for Mark, who is 28. is being co-ordinated. A spokesman for the British Embassy in Algiers said: “So far we have had nothing which tells us one way or another whether things are looking up or down." ■ An embassy official. Philip McLean. accused theorganisers of the 16,000 km rally, the Paris-based Auto-

mobile Sporting Assi a ti on . of providing scant ormation.

“For example. wej nno t even find out whe; t| ie couple last checked ( O r what supplies they Quid have with them.

“We keep hearing Official reports of various Stings of the pair but try and get more from the organisers, we r e t with a blank, as do e Algerian authorities."

Mrs Thatcher waited ai. ously in London w’here s was’eomforted by her dauj. ter. Mark's twin. Carol. T Queen sent the Prime Min ter a personal message e: pressing her concern.

Mrs Thatcher has alwayi refused to watch her handsome son on the race circuit, where he has survived some spectacular crashes, and admitted candidly that his racing worried her. "I'm very fond of my son. we get on marvellously together." she once said.