GALLANT ITALIAN

Southland Times, Issue 20538, 14 July 1928, Page 7

GALLANT ITALIAN

ACT OF HEROISM BOTH MALMGREN’S LEGS FROZEN SURVIVORS ON ICEBERG London, July 13. The Krassin’s rescue adds another thrilling chapter to a tragic Arctic story and accounts for all the Italia’s crew except those carried away with the envelope of the dirigible. It is feared that these perished through the ship catching fire. The wording of the Krassin’s message is regarded as confirming Cecioni’s death. That Professor Malmgren’s is the greatest act of heroism and self-sacrifice in Polar regions since Captain Oates walked into a blizzard to die is the verdict of the newspapers. Professor Malmgren, weakened as a result of a broken hand when the Italia crashed, grew feebler until came a morning when he found both legs frozen. Mariano and Zappi would have remained, but Malmgren implored them to leave him. Reluctantly they consented and he was left in the bitter loneliness of the Arctic near Broch Island to face the fate he had chosen in order that his friends’ chance of safety might be greater. Captain Oates and Professor Malmgren both sacrificed their lives for their comrades and faced death rather than be a burden. Mariano and Zappi clambered on to an iceberg which drifted with the wind. There they remained until rescued. They declared that during the long ordeal they saw no fewer than eight aeroplanes and nearly went mad because none noticed them.