The Washington times., 1930-11-13
RESCUE: CREW
ALSO GOES
TO DEATH
Nuns Perish in Sleep When
Avalanche Strikes; Wallis
Collapse Is Believed Cause

Continued From Page -
the scene was Edouard Herriot
former premier Of France and
for many years mayor Of Lyons
He rose from a sick bed to direct
the work Of rescue. He has beer
suffering from an attack Of in
testinal grip.
All available police and fire
men, as well as the entire mill
tary detachment stationed al
Lyons, were rushed to the scene
Of destruction. At late hour this
morning, only a few bodies had
been recovered. due to the fact
10000 cubic meters Of earth GOV
cred the demolished area to 9
depth of 40 feet.
Slide Described
"A dramatic story Of the diff
culties encountered by rescue
workers was told by Pierre Baux
a fireman who narrowly escaped
death.
The company TO which Baux Il
attached arrived on the scene 9
few moments after the first
landslide. He said:
eve managed to get half
way up the hill along the Rue
TramSSac when we found the
roadway blocked by hundreds
- k4wNa - n0rfh
"Dirt, trees and stone were
piled 20 feet high against the
side of the Hotel Petit Yer
sailles. We jumped off our
truck and lit emergency torches.
"At that moment we heard
the agOnized screams Of women,
and by the Pickering light OF
our torches, we saw the walls
of the hotel start to waver.
'T rushed to the truck to get
. scaling ladder, and in the
meantime other members OF
the company had started to
scramble up the tOttering wall
in an effort to rescue the
women in the hotel.
81 had just returned to the
hotel when the place collapsed,
the walls crashing to the street
with laundering roar.
Heavy Rains Cause
Heavy rains are believed to have
weakened the earth alt the tor
Of the hill, enabling the falling
hospital wall to start tons OF dirt
and masonry on their downward
path of destruction. J
Several hours after the cataStro
phe occurred a definite checkuI
of the number of lives lost was
impossible. Many persons were
missing but were believed merely
to have fled in panic to places OF
safety.
Entire families. sleeping In
their modest homes in the con
gested industrial area, were
trapped without any chance OF
escape. Rescuers dug frantically
In the ruins in the faint hope
that some might be found alive
beneath the shattered wreckage
of their homes.
The Cathedral of st. Jean
which tops the hillside, escaped
destruction only by a few feet
The debris from the avalanche
was piled to a height Of 40 feet
completely obliterating the build
t1gs that lay in its path.
Temporary Hospital
The cathedral was transformed
into a temporary hospital
Throughout the night and early
morning, scores of persons were
carried to the church seriously
injured. Others were treated for
minor injuries and allowed to re,
turn to the work of rescue.
The fact that all inhabitants
OF the district were ordered to
evacuate their homes Immediately
after the first avalanche is be.
AeVed to have prevented an even
greater toll Of dead. The second
landslide engulfed many homes
which had been spared.
st. Jean neStles on a sharp
hill, the streets about it's base
being denSely populated with in
dustrial workers.
AS the morning wore on, the
work Of rescue became thor.
ougnly organized. First-aid sta.
tions, in addition to the tenn.
porary cathedral hospital were