HAZARDOUS SEARCH

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23258, 20 July 1945, Page 5

HAZARDOUS SEARCH

Crash In Bougainville Jungle 1.8.40 p.m.) SYDNEY, July 19. When a N< Zealand Corsair bomber crashc'. in the dense Bougainville jui ;le, Royal Australian Air Force pilots co-operated with Australian and New Zealand medical units in a long, hazardous search for the lost aircraft. The New Zealand pilot was eventually found dead in the cockpit. The Air Department said that immediately the crash was reported, an Australian and New Zealand ambulance proceeded in the general direction of the crash. At the same time two R.A.A.F. Wlrraways took off to search for the crashed Corsair. One Wnraway sighted the plane in dense jungle and directed an Australian infantry patrol to the spot. The patrol bed to go through mine-infested country. Meanwhile, the Australian ambulance. oiler penetrating far into the jungle, became bogged, but the. orderlies pressed on through more mined territory to join up with the New Zealand search party. They then decided to split forces. Tire Australian party blazed a path through unexplored country and eventually reached the coast. The New Zealanders became lost in the jungle and were forced to spend a night without food or drink.