BLOTTED OUT.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 10740, 10 November 1928, Page 5

BLOTTED OUT.

MASCALI COMPLETELY OBLITERATED.-

TOLLiNG BELLS LAST SOUND EIiQM DOOMED TOWN.

ETNA VOMITS REMORSELESSLY

THREE STREAMS OE LAVA

' INHABITANTS ELY FROM ' TOWNS AND VILLAGES. (Australian Presf Association.) ROME, Nov. 8. Lava from Etna is rushing on remorselessly with no signs of abatement. It is becoming hotter apd more liquid. Mascali is now completely obliterated, the last sound from the doomed town being the mournful tolling of the hells as the belfry swayed violently before its collapse. After overwhelming Mascali the lava split up into three streams. Two of £hese later reunited and are now advancing at approximately -75yus an hour? The important centres of Giarre and IleofrecMo are partially evacuated. In the meanwhile, a third stream is on the point of wiping cut the 6mall village of Carrabba, which already has been deserted. Trenches have been dug ana barriers thrown up in the hope of diverting the mass from*'Giarre. The richest and most fertile districts are definitely threatened. Professor Ponte, director of the Etna Observatory, ,bas telegraphed Signor 'Mussolini saying that the eruptions in 1910-11 lasted a fortnight. The present disturbances are far more violent, and must extend much longer. Aeroplanes are circling the summit, signalling any new phenomena. It is announced that a rain of stones and cinders has begun, accompanied by explosions, which were . heard throughout the district like the roar of artillery.

THREE MEN INCINERATED. It is now revealed that three men were incinerated in a farmhouse at Mascali. They had cleared out the women and children and were preparing to leave themselves when the boiling lava encircled the house, which collapsed like a pack of cards. Of the vast crowd assembled none could reach the men before they were swallowed up. Animals are reacting to the catastrophe' strangely. Cats jump boldly into the advancing incandescent mass and are incinerated. Birds tty low, uttering mournful death songs before fluttering downwards to destruction. Only dogs are normal, barking violently as at the approach of an enemy. The evacuation of the villages is being carried on with wonderful discipline and calmness, each family following a cart carrying their effects. One young widow tramped alongside thq cofliu of her husband who died recently. Woods and orange groves have been blotted out over a large area INCANDES CENT BOULDER S ERUPTING FROM CRATER. The Minister of Works is supervising the evacuation. Detachments of troopers are being utilised, using explosives to form great holes in the mountain side in an attempt to check the progress of the lava. In addition to the lava, incandescent boulders are now being vomited from the crater, constituting a grave menace to water pipes, none of which could withstand the impact should it be struck.

Among the victims were an old couple living in a lonely cottage amid some orange groves. They lingered, hoping that their home would be spared, but suddenly the lava sped over the cottage and the occupants disappeared in the stream of lire.

A number of Mascali’s homeless, who exceed 10,000, are in a pitiable condition, despite efforts to alleviate their suffering.