Airmen Located

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1023, 14 July 1930, Page 9

Airmen Located

MATTHEWS REACHES VILLAGE

Hook Reported Dying

WEEK’S TRAMP AFTER PLANE CRASHES

AFTER a silence of eight days, word lias heen received that the airmen, Matthews and Hook, who were missing over the Indian jungle, have heen located. Matthews was picked up by villagers, and a search party is now seeking Hook, who was left behind in a serious condition, one day’s march away. The men tramped for seven days after their machine crashed.

United P.A. —By Telegraph Copyright Reed. 10.55 a.m. RANGOON, Sunday. News has now been received of Messrs. James Matthews and Eric Hook, who were attempting to fly to Australia and ha.d been missing since July 3. A message has been received by the Commissioner at Pegu from Prome, a town 160 miles from Rangoon, that Matthews was picked up by villagers at longitude 94.56, latitude 80.47, after walking for seven days down tho Buto Stream. Hook had been left behind in a dying condition, as he was unable to walk. He is one day’s march away. A search party, with a doctor, has left Padaung. and the police and villagers aro believed already to be searching. The airplane crashed in the East Yoma mountains, but the precise locality is unknown. The two fliers, Matthews and Hook, secretly left Lympno airdrome, Kent,

at dawn on June 20. on an attempt to break Bert Hinkler’s record flight to Australia. The departure of the two men was not reported until late at niglif. Their airplane was not equipped with wireless. The fliers spent the first night at Lyons, then flew to Marseilles and on to Rome, Pisa, Catania, Heliopolis (Lower Egypt), Gaza, Bagdad, Bushire, Jask and Karachi (India). They landed at Karachi in the teeth of a monsoon cyclone on June 27. Their next landing was at Dumdum, near Calcutta, which place they left on the morning of July 2 for Rangoon, arriving that day at Akyab, Burma, north of Rangoon. On July 5 word was received at Rangoon tha£ the airmen had left Akyab on July 3 and had crashed 12 miles from Taunggup, yvhich is situated 140 miles south of Akyab. The plane was seen on the morning of July 3. over a village about 10 miles north of Taung-gup. It was dying low and was apparently in difficulties. The chances that the airmen would bo found alive were deemed remote, if the machine crashed in that locality, as it is impenetrable jungle.