ÑINE KILLED.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20541, 16 February 1935, Page 11

ÑINE KILLED.

I British Flying Boat Crashes. NO SURVIVORS. machine hits mountain in SICILY. United Press Assn.—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. (Received February 16, 2.10 p.m.) T , . LONDON, February 15. -I be A»r Ministry has received infor'•he Singapore flying boat K 3595, which was flying to-day from x\ajyes to the Royal Air Force seaplane base at Calafrana, Malta, is reported to have crashed near Messina, in Sicily. The service personnel on the boat numbered eight, and there was also on board one technical official from the Royal Aircraft establishment at Farnborough. *■ The misfortune attending her from the start culminated when K 3595 | crashed in a fog on a hillside on Mand- j razzi Spur, in the Peloritana Range, 4000 ft high, near the village of San Filippo, at 11.15 in the morning. Apparently the pilot lost his bearings in the clouds during a storm. The disaster was not witnessed by anyone. The,wreck caught fire and all occupants are believed to have been burnt to death, namely two officers, six men and one technician, including FlightLieutenant Beatty, a nephew of Lord Beatty. A local carter discovered the burnt and twisted wreckage and salved a piece of the machine, which he showed to the San Filippo police as evidence of the tragedy. Members of the Red Cross, police, firemen and civilians hastened to the scene, but the continuous rains and the absence of roads impeded the rescuers, who after a three hours mountain journey extricated four charred corpses, including both of the officers. The remainder, it is believed, would be trapped in the metal hull. The firemen continued the search by torchlight until rain forced its abandonment until the morning. K 3592 accompanied the wrecked craft from Naples, where the squadron has been delayed since January 26 by influenza and the need of awaiting spare parts from England due to a defective engine aboard K 3595. She and K 3592 departed early in the morning, leaving the others, which were still at Naples, to follow later. K 3592 reached Malta at 10.50 and reported that she had last seen her companion near Messina at nine o’clock, but missing her over Sicily, turned back. She failed to find her and sent out a wireless message, but shortage of petrol compelled the resumption of her flight to Malta. The Italian authorities intercepted this message, the first to suggest a disaster. The Royal Air Force headquarters at Malta vainly sought news from all Sicilian wireless stations. K 3592 was ordered to turn back and search, but the weather rendered her efforts fruitless and she returned to Malta. The British Vice-Consul at Naples is going to San Filippo by plane and the Admiralty have despatched a warship to Messina. K 3595 was one of four “ Singapore ” four-engined flying boats which are leisurely flying to Singapore to re-equip the air base. The Messina correspondent of the “ News-Chronicle ” says that while the police were being notified villagers threw snow on the flying-boat, which burnt from noon until 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Flames followed the splitting of the petrol tank. Three medals were found near the wreckage. The only means of identifying the flying-boat were the engine, which the Mayor of the village ascertained was British. Italian aeroplanes directed the rescuers, who arrived on donkeys.

Bodies Recovered. MESSINA, February 15. The bodies of all the victims were recovered and laid side by side in a cave in order to protect them from the rain before they were placed in coffins, which were hastily made at Messina and carried uphill to the scene by the police. A few documents were recovered. These include a photograph with the head burnt off and a signature at the bottom. The coffins will be taken on February 16 to the Cillave Church, where a mortuary chapel is being prepared and to which peasant women are already bringing candles. The authorities await the arrival from Naples of the Commander of W. Flight, Flight-Commander A. S. Lang, and other officers. The carter, who gave the alarm, was working on the mountain side when he heard a roar and saw the aeroplane burst suddenly from the clouds on to the mountain top. It was on a perilous slant, with one wing down and the other aloft, and the lower wing swept against the hillside, causing the crash. A jet of smoke burst out and this was followed by a terrific explosion. The machine -was in flames before it struck the mountain. Broken pieces of the machine hurtled down the declivity. The wreck was unapproachable owing to the heat. “ I saw two men half burned in the front of the machine,” said the carter. “ The medals and ribbons were plainly visible on their chests.’’ Signor Mussolini has sent a message of sympathy to the British Government.