TRAGIC CRASH

Southland Times, Issue 25342, 22 July 1935, Page 7

TRAGIC CRASH

DUTCH AIR LINEB THIRTEEN LIVES LOST DISASTER DURING STORM THIRD WITHIN A WEEK (United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright.) (Rec. 6.30 p.m.) London, July 20. The Royal Dutch air liner Phakg, of the flying hotel type, en route from Milan to Frankfurt, crashed near San Bernardino, Switzerland, during a severe storm. Thirteen occupants were killed, including two Britishers. The others were Dutch. The cause of the disaster is unknown. The British dead ate Commander Arthur Watts, D. 5.0., who took part in the Zeebrugge raid in 1918, and Louis Mariano Nesbit, mining engineer and author of romantic books on Abyssinia, where he adventurously travelled in districts from which whites have formerly not returned alive. Commander Watts was hastening from Italy to rejoin his wife, who recently gave birth to a second son. An bfficer of the air line company states that the pilot, van der Veist, when crossing the frontier of Switzerland encountered fog and asked for a bearing from Milan 15 minutes before the crash. Then he wound in the aerial owing to a thunderstorm. He came out of the clouds and found himself too near the ground. Therefore he attempted to climb up through the clouds and collided with the mountainside. Villagers at San Bernardino state that the plane crashed into a pine forest clothing a deep ravine with such violence that debris was flung up. A propeller was later found embedded in a tree 50 yards distant. Rescuers rushed to the spot and found all dead but Mademoiselle Hermnnides, the first of four stewardesses recently engaged who was making her first trip from Holland. She was hastily extricated. but died in a few minutes. A message from The Hague states that the public are deeply shocked at the third disaster in a week after a long period almost without tragedy. The air line announces the suspension of the Milan service until the cause of the disaster is established. It will be operated by the Lufthansa Company. PREVIOUS DISASTER PASSENGERS PICKED UP. (United Press Assn. —Telegraph Copyright.) Baghdad. July 19. Chevalier K. D. Parmentier picked up the passengers from the smashed Douglas plane after a record flight. He hopes to reach Amsterdam to-morrow, covering 7000 miles in 31 days. This message refers to the plane that crashed at Bushire when taking off for Baghdad on July 17. It was completely burned and the mails were destroyed, but seven passengers and the crew of four escaped with only slight injuries. On July 14 a Dutch air Hue l " crashed at Amsterdam and caught fire. Two of the passengers and four of the crew were killed. Fourteen others escaped.