The Washington times., 1912-07-03
TWO BODIES OF
VANN|MAN BALLOON
VICTIMS RECOVERED
Dynamite Is Used In Effort
to Release Others From
Wrecked Dirigible.

ATLANTIC CITY, July 3.-Two
bodies. those of Calvin Vanniman and
Fred Elmas, have been recovered from
the wreckage of the dirigible balloon
Akron, now lying a tangled mass of
piping and wires In the waters OF
Absecon Inlet, where 1t fell after the
explosion of yesterday, which killed
five men.
The three missing bodies are still
caught in the wreckage of the bal
loon and many men and boats are
working to rescue the remains from
the debris. 49,. .. ...
The shock Of the fall was so great
that no living thing could pass through
it. even though the explosion had not
killed.
The water was not more than seven
feet deep, and the cage in which the
men were confined must have dug deep
into the sand.
Broken it. must he. for the body Of
Calvin Vanniman came 70 the surface
an hour or so after the ship was
wrecked Boys found 1t floating head
down. 1t was so badly bruised and
burned that 1t could scarcely be recog-
nized. Every bone seemed to be broken
and there were deep gashes in the
flesh.
william Mcdonald, Cal Vanniman's
friend, went out in a motor boat with a
diver, Fred Clifford, of Boston. Clifford
spent a long time in the wreckage. He
went down In the murky water and felt
along both sides Of the engine room
compartment.
Enclosed as it was with heavy mesh.
and Capt. Eugene Boelm. in charge Of
the wrecking boat, unscrewed the he'll
met. -.
II guess those other three are all
can't be in the cage. I've worked both
into the chinks and they amt there"
Clifford said the car was all broken up.
the wheel and the tiller and both were
shattered. The diver was taken into
the launch Eddy B. Then Captain
Boehm took out a fifty-pound box OF
He hoped an explosion would bring the
other bodies to the surface unless they
had been thrust far down into the sand.
Captain Boehm ordered all small
circle while Boehm and Gifford pre-
pared to set off the charge. The
two wreckers got into a rowboat and
made slowly away from the wreck
playing out the, wire to the dynamite
like a trolling line.
In minute the charge was explod-
ed and cloud Of white water rose
200 feet into the air. 1t was dotted
with bits OF wreckage, but when the
boats closed in again on the Akron
they found no more bodies.
Albert H. Bell, secretary of the
American Exhibition Company, was
Standing among those at the hangar
when the Akron fell.
'T believe" he said. "that when the
morning sunshine expanded the gas
in the bag the balloon was literally
torn to pieces. The automatic valves
apparently failed to work and the
pressure was not relieved"
This was Mrs. Vanniman's own idea.
She said to a friend:
IT believe the trouble was caused by
the failure of the automatic escape
valve to work. Theree was a large
valve about sixteen inches in diameter
in the bottom of the bag This was ar
ranged so that when the pressure oi
gas became too heavy from the heal
Of the suns rays upon the envelope II
would open and allow some of the gas
to escape.
"I am sure this valve was stuck anC
that the balloon went higher and high
er as a result Of the heavy pressure o
expanding gas. There being no outle
the gas continued to expand until tn,
pressure was stonger than the bag
Then 1t burst"
Mrs. Vanniman is at the Hotel ChaI
fonte with a friend. Mrs. Gest reached
the field in front Of the hanger after
the accident. She and Mrs. Bourillor
are in a cOllaDSe.