TRUCK OF CORDITE HITS A TREE AND KILLS SOLDIERS
(Rec. 7.55). MELBOURNE. May 22. Two soldiers, not yet identified, were killed when an army truck, carrying cordite, hit a tree and exploded on the main highway near Benalla, Victoria, tolday. The bodies of the soldiers were burnt beyond recognition. - The sky was lit with a red glare for miles. Apparently the truck caught fire when it smashed through one tree and mto another.
The flames reached 200 six-inch gun charges, which caused the complete demolition of the vehicle. The body of a man thought to be the driver was found on the roadway, and the ??econd body in the remains of the cabin. Bits of cordite- canisters were found more than seventy yards from the wreckage, and pieces of wrapper from the charges were left hanging in trees forty feet from the ground. Travelling like rockets, the burning canisters cut all the greenery from nearby trees.
Wheel marks showing that the truck veered gradually for sixty yards, indicate that the driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel.
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Bibliographic details
Grey River Argus, 23 May 1947, Page 4
Word Count
178TRUCK OF CORDITE HITS A TREE AND KILLS SOLDIERS Grey River Argus, 23 May 1947, Page 4
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