New Britain herald., 1928-07-11
MOBILES PARTY GROWING WEAKER
Men Are Going Insane Lieuten,
 ant Lundborg Reports


 tP-Indications increased today that { l tragedy of modern polar explora- i iion had claimed the lives of nine 1 teen men. Grave fears were enter tained for five others.
 Those believed dead were: 1 Ten members of General Cmberto Mobiles party of 16 which was aboard the drigible Italia when it crashed May 25, returning from the north pole.
 Roald Amundsen. Lieutenant Lief Dietriehsen, Captain Rene Gilbaud and crew of three of French ! seaplane, which tried to find No- piles party.
 The Italian Alpine chasseur, Cap- tain Sora and two Norwegians. Warming and Nandongen, guides who also started search. Commander Mobile is the only one of his party rescued. One man was killed in the crash.
 Fear was increased for the safety or five fever stricken and partially insane men marooned on the ice by the crash of the airship. There ap- peared 10 be no immediate prospect for their rescue. For four days at- tenpts to communicate with them by radio have failed.
 Radio Weak.
 This silence today was attributed 10 either weakness of Radio Opera- tor Giuseppi l'ioggi or atmospheric conditions. Lieutenant Einar- Paal Lundborg, Swedish airman who was rescued from among the marooned men off Foyn Island, said that Bioe- sl was weak from fever but manae- ed twice daily to send out radio re- ports. Aboard the base ship Citta 1)l Nllano it was asserted that at- lhospherlc conditions prevented short wave radio communication,
 The floe upon which they are drifting was growing soft preventing planes from landing to take them off, Their hope of rescue appeared to rest upon the ability of the ice | breakers krassin and Braganza fore { ing their way through the pack ice 10 them. The krassin reported no J progress yesterday being held in the 1 ice about 30 miles away from the survivors.
 SOra Is Lost,
 A dog team expedition of Captain sora with the Norwegians Warming and Nandongen started across the ice several weeks ago 10 rescue the men although warned that such an attempt was fraught with great peril, They were swal- lowed up by the arctic.
 Lieut.. Lundborg said that on landlng on the ice on June 24 he 1 was met by Lieut.. Alfredo Niglieri, now in command of the gro.s an> l5ioggl With great difficulty they struggled over the ice to the silk .ent. which had been painted red to guide rescuers.
 Bearded and dirty General rm- oerto Mobile fell into Lundborg's erms in the tent. He wept from joy and distress as he en- 'raced and kissed the Swedish air. ran. Lundborg said the condition 'f the tent baffled description. All 'f the Italians were more or less physically and mentally ill from { train, exposure and lack of proper i ood.
 Lundhorg and Lieut.. shyberg, who accompanied him, carried and drag ed Mobile to the plane. They took nm to Hinlopen Strait and from here he was transferred to the Git 2 q Di AIilano. Then LYndborg returned to the [ ,e foe alone, hoping to bring out wo men in his plane. The ekiis of < is craft cut through the soft snow. : he machine turned over and was 'recked. Lundbors was marooned 3 mong the men he had hoped to I escue. f
 Very Weak Y Painfully and with great difficulty t 1e live able bodied refugees had ! arried Natale Ceccioni, motor chief hose leg was broken in the crash c the airship, to the place where V le plane was expected to land. Ap- s arently were too weak to carry ( i'm back since when the plane was c rocked he was placed on a wing $ the machine and left exposed to C le rigors of the arctic until the ext day. Then the tent and the D ltlre camp were moved to the II lane. The shelter was spread over T eccioni's couch on the wing of the a f. Days of despair followed. Fog 'eyented airplane rescue partiesi om either rescuing them or seeing u lem. Shifting winds loosed the ice a 'ound the camp. The rising and c1 Hing of the floe added to the mis- d. y of the party. The food began to m low and all were placed on D. lort rations el The ice breaker Krassin which el as expected failed to appear. The @ arooned men could see Cape W Ugh Smith ten miles away but tf 'red not attemtp the perilous jour- e y over the ice to it.
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