MILAN OUTRAGE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 14 April 1928, Page 7

MILAN OUTRAGE

KING VICTOR'S NARROW ESCAPE BOMB EXPLODES FIVE MINUTES lon Scon TRRRTRLE SCRN'F. FOLLOWS EXPLOSION Unite.l Vvt>*> Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. Australian Press Association ROME. 12th April. The city is aghast following the two bomb outrages. Signer Mussolini, in a message to the King. llie whole ol Italy is vibrating with indignation at the' Miian outrage. The explosion occurred nl 10 in the morning close lo the triumphal mvli o|' .Julius Caesar in the Square, live minutes before the King's procession passed, Apparently Mis Mil jesty's decision to drive direct to the fair from the train saved his life.

Experts say the bomb was of a new type, shaped like a huge grenade, and so constructed to bur-! inlo hundreds , i pieces: moreover, it v.:i- electrically operated. .The bomb was cunningly se creted inside a lamp posl, fragments of which were largely responsible fur the slaughter. The explosion damaged lenses over a wide area. There was a terrible spectaf*.'. miitilated bodies lying in the roadways in every direction, an indescribable stampede' adding to the horror. TWENTY-THREE PEOPLE KILLED Australian Press Association ROME, 12th April. There were 23 fatalities in the Milan bomb outrage. The King owed his life to a slight hitch in the programme. causing him to lie a few minutes late. Fragments of the lamppost dented the walls of neighbouring buildings up lo the third floor. The explosion shattered every nearby u indow.

A woman on a balcony above the explosion." maddened at the sight of the. dead and dying, jumped down and killed one of the' injured, and died as King Victor reached her bedside.

Signor Mussolini sent the following message to King Victor: "The nation, with deep devotion, draws more closely to Your Majesty. Milan's industrial life and the nation's steadfast discipline will continue to your dynasty's renown and Italy's power."