CREW OF THE ITALIA

Otago Witness, Issue 3875, 19 June 1928, Page 29

CREW OF THE ITALIA

WANDERING IN ICY WASTES. THE MAIN PARTY. LONDON, June 11. General Nobile sent a wireless message stating that he is not aware of the whereabouts of the members of the crew who were carried off as a result of the Italia’s mishap. At present he and his party are stranded on the pack ice in view ot the coast, minus arms, cooking utensils and snowshoes. Two of his companions are suffering acutely. Each has a leg broken. SOVIET RELIEF EFFORTS. LONDON, June 12. The Riga correspondent of The Times states that the Italian Government has requested the Soviet to continue the relief efforts, for which the world’s most powerful ice-breaker, the Krassin, has been ordered to King’s Bay. starting on June 13. The ice-breaker Malygin is leaving Archangel to-night, equipped with several months’ provisions, clothing, arms, and a short-wave apparatus. A seaplane in charge of Pilot Chukhnovsky has left Murmansk for Hope Island with a powerful short-wave apparatus. PLIGHT OF THE CASTAWAYS. LONDON, June 13. The latest message received by the Citta di Milano confirms the statement that the castaways are Scattered into groups. Three of the crew have been en route for 10 days for Cape North on a desperate march across, roughly, 100 miles of treacherous ice, four remain at the wireless post, including two who are badly injured, three are trekking towards the Hobby, and seven are missing. With the derelict airship are the motor engineers, a journalist named Ugohago, and a Czecho-Slovakian scientist. One of this party, whose name is Zitta, says he is able to hear the wireless from the ship clearly, but a day or two will see the end of the transmitting accumulators. This fact will render rescue operations far more difficult than would have been the case if the crew had remained together. BRAGANZA FREE FROM THE ICE. LONDON, June 13.News from King’s Bay states that the Braganza has been freed from the ice, and is returning there in order to refuel’ after which she will leave immediately for North-east Land to attempt the rescue of the Italia’s men. She wil’ take otr Lieutenant Riiser Larsen and his aeroplane from the Hobby at Tromsoe. The steamer Quest, with a Norwegian rescue party aboard, is going to King’s Bay, and she will be followed by a Swedish rescue ship carrying three aeroplanes. STORY OF THE DESCENT. ROME, June 13. General Nobile is now able to transmit an official report as a result of the complete re-establishment of wireless communition with the Citta Di Milano. His position last night was 80.38 N., 26.55 E., and he reports that at 10.30 on the morning of May 25 the Italia, which was flying smoothly at a height of 500 metres, suddenly became heavy and uncontrollable, and rapidly descended. In two minutes she hit the ice pack, and the cabin and part of the upper steel work became detached, the rest of airship being carried eastwards. The occupants of the cabin scrambled out, overjoyed at their escape, and shouting, “ Viva Italia.”

On the evening of May 30 Commandants Mariano and Zappi, and the Swedish scientist Malmgren, set out on foot to reach North Cape, North east Land at the rate of 10 kilometres a day. General Nobile’s party included the Czecho-Slovakian scientist Behounek, Engineers Ceccioni and Troiani, Lieutenant Vigrieri, and the wireless operator Biagi. Those adrift in the airship should be abel to survive for some time. SNOWSTORM AT KING’S BAY. KING’S BAY, June 13. A violent snowstorm and a north-west gale are raging. Grave fears are entertained for the safety of the three members of the crew who are travelling overland. WIRELESS MESSAGES CEASE. LONDON, Jure 13. General Nobile’s wireless has ceased. Nothing was received throughout the night after the- message detailing the disaster to the Italia, and it is believed that the accumulators are exhausted, and that nothing likely to be heard from the castaways, but they will be able to receive messages for some time yet. The pack ice, which has carried them two miles in two days, is breaking up here and there, forming canals. Unfortunately the weather has undergone a bad change, and a north-west gale is feared, accompanied by snow, which will further try the poorly-clothed crew, and imperil the lives of the three men who are trekking to Cape North. An encouraging aspect, however, is that relief expeditions are daily becoming more numerous. The following expeditions are now afoot: —Finland is despatching "immediately two aeroplanes fitted with skateskids ; JSweden, in addition to the help already offered, is despatching a triple-

motor Junkers aeroplane to Spitzbergen on Thursday; the Russian ice-breaker Malygmine, which is carrying an aeroplane, has left Archangel; the giant icebreaker Krassin will leave Kronstadt on Thursday; Italy’s great seaplane, which is similar to that used by Count de Pinedo last year on his Atlantic flight, is expected at Stockholm to-night, and at King’s Bay to-morrow; the research aeroplane Dorniewal is also speeding to Spitzbergen from Norway, and the famous Quest, loaded with supplies, left Tromso to-night. Captain Rosquist, the Finnish icebreaking expert, says that there is the smallest possibility of the ice-breakei reaching the Italia before the end of July. _ The only chance is the use ol the aeroplanes aboard the ice-breaker. A British United Press Association message from Berlin says that the nonparticipation of America and Britain is causing comment. The Berliner Tageblatt wonders why England, with an ae.ial strength vastly superior to that of Norway and Sweden, is doing nothing. GENERAL NOBILE INJURED. ROME, June 14. It is officially announced that General Nobile is suffering from injuries to his right arm and leg, and that the chief engineer has broken a leg. MESSAGE FROM RELIEF SHIP. ROME, June 15. The Citta di Milano reports that General Nobile sent a wireless message that the ice encampment had drifted seven miles since Tuesday. The signals are weaker, and the weather at present renders a search by air impossible. NONE RESCUED YET. LONDON, June 15. The report that three of the Italia’s crew had rescued by the Hobby dog team was unfortunately premature. The dog team has not returned, and has sent no message, while the weather in the neighbourhood will render the flights of Holm and Larsen impossible. General Nobile’s faint signals were again heard by the Citta di Milano today, suggesting that the accumulators were useabla sparingly. The message said that the camp had been struck by a heavy storm, but no one had been injured. General Nobile again urged rescuers to rush food, arms, and ammunition, and added: “ The ice is breaking up. Large expanses of water are showing up. This will afford a suitable seaplane landing, but, on the contrary, it evokes a danger that we may have to move our camp.” The position given by wireless shows that General _ Nobile’s party has drifted seven miles eastward since Tuesday. There is still utter silence concerning the fate of seven of the crew who were carried off in the envelope. Every day the rescuers are drawing nearer their goal, while the number of offers of help are growing. The Russian ice-breaker Krassin, carrying wireless, aeroplanes, and 134 persons, including scientists, wireless experts, and journalists, is now en route from Leningrad, and is expected at King’s Bay on June 25.

France has now taken a hand, and has offered Major Gilbaud and his giant two-engined seaplane, which is standing by for a transatlantic dash. Major Gilbaud will leave to-morrow, picking up Captain. Amundsen at Bergen, and then proceeding to Spitzbergen. The petro capacity is sufficient for 40 hours, and tht plane can carry a ton of cargo.

HELP FROM FRANCE. OSLO, June 16. In readiness for Major Guilbaud’s arrival, provisions which General Noble is likely to need, are being assembled at Bergen, ■whither Captain Amundsen will depart to-night, taking Lieutenant Dietricson, who piloted Captain Amundsen’s Polar flight in 1925, and Wisting. Captain Amundsen’s inseparable Arctic and Antarctice companion. It is exactly 25 years to-day since Captain Amundsen started his first expedition. The Maddalena left Vadsoe for Spitzbergen this morning, but was obliged to descend owing to a damaged motor. She was towed to Vadsoe, and resumed this evening.

The Minister of Agriculture (Mr O. J. Hawken) had some difficulty in making himself heard when opening the Poultry and Pigeon Show in Wellington recently (says the Post), owing to the practically unceasing vocal efforts of feathered exhibits. However, he was very good-humoured about it, and when the society’s president banged on the cage of one particularly strident interjector to try and quieten him, the Minister smilingly checked him with, “ Don’t ivorry, Mr Caldwell, I am quite used to speaking under adverse conditions.” Thereafter the cock crew unchecked. An amusing anecdote indicative of the sporting instincts harboured by modern childhood was told by a speaker at a recent Rotary dinner in Napier (says an exchange). He stated that on one occasion he had to inspect the pupils in a certain school in the King Country, x n which the predominating number of pupils were Natives. After putting the children through their paces on various subjects, and thinking to test their knowledge of financial matters, he took a coin out of his pocket and spun it in the air, at the same time asking, “ What is that? ’’ .Like- a flash came a spontaneous answer from the whole of the class, “ Heads.” “ The law of the mountains is that all go together,” said Dr E. Teichelmann in his lantern lecture at Christchurch on Wednesday (reports the Times) in showing slides of rope work in mountaineering. “ The safest man leads the way, and if one man slips the rest hold him. If one goes they all go—that’s ” - ’■"» of the mountains."