CANAL BURSTS BANKS

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20888, 21 August 1939, Page 10

CANAL BURSTS BANKS

BELGIAN FRONTIER DEFENCE VICTIM LOST IN FLOOD (Times Ail* Mail Service) LONDON, July 23 With a thundering crash, a flood of water 10ft high burst the banks of Belgium's brand-new 100-mile-long Albert Canal—a vital link in her German frontier defences—which cost £15,0u0,00U and took ten years to build. Breaches varying in width from 75ft to 500 yards were forced in the banks, which tower 20 feet above the level of the ground. The torrent flooded parts of the nearby town of Jlasselt to a depth of over live feet and inundated hundreds of acres of surrounding farmland. Anxiety was at first felt ; ir 1 defence positions and fortifications which been built in alignment with . tii-' canal, but later stated that these did not suffer in 1 any way. The Hood carried away the 1». dy of M. Ivan Cogean, 11 e Russian < - responsible for the construction of ’ the canal. The Only Victim Rushing to the scene with two assistants when the leakages were t, I first reported he was struck by i masonry when a cement banlv caved . in. All three were swept away, ills body was recovered three hours later. : His assistants escaped with injuries. ’ j Peasants working in the fields all i managed to reach safety, and M. • Cogeaii wjas the only victim of the l disaster. , Mounted police ami troops formed cordons round the affected areas, ami

hundreds of people rendered homeless were {riven sanctuary in the upper parts of the town. Flood damage is estimated at hundreds of millions ol‘ franca. Scores of telephone posts arid lamp standard*, in tin* town have been carried away. Water poured out of the canal into the Hivcr Denier, which, in its turn, threatened several villages and drove their inhabitants to limber ground. Later, however, the How of water was checked and the level dropped, allowing people to return to their homes. The Prefect of Police at Hasselt is satisfied that tile collapse of the banks is not due to sabotage. “We have carried out thorough investigations,” he stated, “but have discovered nothing suggestive of deliberate mischief-making.” Minister's Statement M. Yanderpoorten. the Minister of Public Works, ami link' d in the Belgian Senate that the whole length of the canal is to be surveyed following the disaster. lie said that the damage was such that, it would be several months before this section of the canal would be op'-n to Ipa hie. The canal was to been opened by King Leopold at the end of July. State engineers are of the opinion that the banks gave way owing to the defective consistency of the local gravel used in making the dykes. Troops under the direction of army engineers are making gnat efforts t<» repair the breaches and to prevent further collapses, so that, the remainder of the canal may be opened on the date originally lived. The Albert Canal wlas designed to allow ships up to tons to sail into the heart, of Belgium's chief industrial area and to capture from Holland the rich traffic of the lUver Meuse.