GIANT GERMAN AIRSHIP WRECKED

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 190, 8 May 1937, Page 11

GIANT GERMAN AIRSHIP WRECKED

Hindenberg Explodes And Crashes To Earth In New Jersey THIRTY-THREE BELIEVED TO BE DEAD Many Thrown Out By Impact With Ground And Escape By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright. (Received May 7, 11 p.m.) New York, May 7. The German Zeppelin Hindenburg, the largest, airship ever built, exploded while landing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, yesterday, on the conclusion of the first trans-Atlantic flight of the season, and crashed in a blazing mass of wreckage. There were 97 people on board, including 36 passengers and a crew of 61. The latest figures state that 33 are believed to be dead. Nineteen bodies have been recovered. Sixtyfour escaped alive, of whom 20 were passengers. The former commander of the Hindenburg, Captain Lehmann, who was on board, was severely burned and his condition is critical. The present commander, Captain Preuss, was also seriously injured. The Hindenburg tossed her nose lines to the ground as light rain was falling. Suddenly, when the ship was less than 200 feet up, there was a terrific burst of flame at the stern, and an explosion, which was heard for miles. The ship collapsed and crashed to earth, and in a few minutes there was onl.v the twisted steel frame lying on the ground. United States Army experts attributed the disaster to static and the use of inflammable gases in combination with hydrogen blue gas.