ARCTIC TRAGEDY

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume XXV, Issue 7721, 12 July 1928, Page 3

ARCTIC TRAGEDY

TERRIBLE PLIGHT OF EXPLORERS FEVER AND FOOD SHORTAGE CECIONI’S PITIFUL DEATH Australian and N.Z. CableLONDON, July 10A British United Press message from Virgo Bay says that Captain Lundborg states that all of Signor Viglieri’s party are fever striken. There is also, he said, a great scarcity of food, as a large part of the supplies that were dropped to the castaways from aeroplanes fell in the sea or out of their reach. Signor Cecioni’s death was pitiful. After Captain Lundborg had rescued Cecioni’s five companions he carried him to an ice-floe in order that he might be the first rescued when Lundborg returned.

Unfortunately, Captain Lundborg crashed, and Signor Cecioni was too heavy to be carried back to the canip, and so was left in the open all night. His wounds froze, and death followed.

The search for Professor Malmgrem’s party, which set out to trek across the ice, and Captain Sora, the missing Sewdish aviator, has been definitely abandoned.

The original disaster, in which the Italia was wrecked, was due to the fabric of the dirigible being lacerated at the stern, and thus the airship lost her steerage. When the rudder would not act the motors were stopped because of the fear of fire. When the crash came all the Italians on the ice thought it best to die, and so crept into their sleeping bags. However, this mood changed on the third day, when a polar bear approached. Professor Malmgrem, who had the solitary revolver the party possessed, shot the bear at a distance of fifteen feet, using five cartridges. The meat was cut off with scissors, and cooked by means of solidified alcohol. For many nights bears came up and sniffed at the sleeping bags.