Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1921-08-26
Fallen Dirigible Lies on Sand
or Mud Bar Three Fourths
of a Mile From Shore of
Humber,
LONG TASK TO MOVE
HUGE BULK OF STEEL
Bodies of Two Americans
Found to Be Sent Home;
Collapse Of Girder Caused
Catastrophe,
tBy The Associated Press,)

Hull, England, Aug. 25 (by the
Associated Press. Efforts to sal
wage the wreck of the ZR-2 in the
widespread mouth of the Humber
river, in the hope that more of the
covered from the twisted debris OF
the giant airship were resumed at
low tide late today.
All Hull, it seemed, watched
from the quays along the river
which pours itself out, chocolate
colored, TO the sea. Thousands Of
persons stood patiently for hours
watching while the salvage men
struggled with the difficult task of
running steel ropes under the
wreck of the airship for the pur-
pose of trying to pull it from the
muddy bottom with the incoming
high tide.
During the late day admiralty
officers went out in a tug TO In
spect the wreck, while small sal
wage craft of the air department
were cleaning what they could
from the parts of the zR-2 pro-
jecting from the water. The Amer
lean air officers, anxious to recover
the bodies Of their comrades, also
inspected what was left of the diri-
gible that was to have taken them
to the United States.
The ZR-2 lies on a sand or mud
bar about half way in the mouth
Of the river, three-fourths of a mile
from shore. The water at low tide
here is about four feet deep. So
bent and twisted is the skeleton
frame which projects from the sur
face. that despite the shallowness
of the water at low tide, it will be
extremely difslcult to move the
wreck because of its great weight,
with clinging mud and the river
running swiftly on either side.
This afternoon one salvage boat
was working assiduously at the
wreck, but the more elaborate ap-
paratus which was expected had
not yet arrived. Old river men
shook their heads skeptically and
declared it would be no short job to
remove the great bulk of metal.
Meanwhile, a lightship has been
stationed alongside the wreck TO
warn traffic of its danger. River
men are inclined to the opinion
that not many bodies will be found
in the debris, but will more likely
be found up river, as the tide.
which was beginning to flow when
the disaster occurred, runs strong
" for several miles upstream.
1t is understood the bodies of
the two Americans already found
will be embalmed and sent home.
No.. hn tnnIIncf
the bodies recovered will be held,
but It Is not expected that the In
quiry will develop into anything
sensational in the way of verdict,
pending the official inquiry into
the cause of the disaster. 1t is gen.
orally known that the calamity was
precipitated by the collapse of a
girder amidships. but nobody In
authority has yet ventured an
opinion as to what caused the glr-
der to collapse,
Each hour of delay in searching
for the bodies, will make more re-
mote the possibility of their re-
covery, according to Charles H.
Broom, a non-commissioned Off
Ger of the naval air detachment,
who chaneed to be IN Hull on leave
yesterday and was the first Ameri-
can to visit the scene of the disas-
ter.
Broom, whose home is in Attain
tic City, N. j., told the Associated
Press correspondent today that he
arrived at the wreck ten minutes
after the airship hit the water. The
after bag, he said. was still IN
flated, standing thirty to forty feet
above the surface.
Stripping off his coat, Broom cut
the opening in the outer covering
of the bag, dived in and swan
through one of the after gondplas.
He recovered the body of Lieuten-
ant r. S. Montague, and Harry