Imperial Valley press., 1934-01-31
DEATH TAKES
THREE SOVIET
BA[[OON|STS
Bodies OF Men Who Established
Altitude Record Yesterday Are
Found In Gondola.
BROKE OFF FROM BALLOON
Men Missing Several Hours Af-
ter Communication With Earth
Had Ceased.

MOSCOW, Jan. 81. U.P)-Three
daring Soviet balloonists, who as
cended higher into the upper at
moSphere than man had ever risen
before, were found dead today at
the end of their adventure.
The gondola of their stratosphere
balloon became detached.
Throughout the night the balloon,
which had established a worlds al
titude record of 67,568 feet Q2.79
niles, was sought by radio, search
light and high powered field glass
es, but without result.
At a. m. today g p. m. EST
authorities began a systematic
search of territory within radius
of $50 miles of Moscow, at that time
the balloon, with its crew of three
commanded by Paul Fedoseenko,
had not been heard from in 13
hours.
The last radio communication
with the aeronauts, including An -
drew Vasenko, engineer who con-
structed the gondola of the Syrius,
and lila USiSkin, brilliant young
scientist who was making physical
observations, came at $40 p. m.
yesterday.
At that time, the balloon was
lowering over Kolomna, and was
descending.
GOndola ExplOdes
The balloon, which ascended at
9:15 a. m. and reached height of
1874 miles within three hours, fell
between $3.50 and D. m. yesterday
near the village of Potiiski Ostrog
east of Moscow.
Witnesses reported two explosions
as the gondola hit the earth with
terrific force.
The impact was SO great that the
bodies of the men were mutilated
and the instruments ruined, so that
their gallant achievement probab-
ly will be without scientific result
unless written observations are
found intact.
An official commission left for the
scene to conduct an investigation.
The Communist party congress,
now in session, adjourned out of re-
spect to the dead. 1t was voted to
bury them in the wall of the Krem-
lin, high Soviet honor.
The reason for the catastrophe
was not known. When the balloon,
the Syrius, struck the ground the
'eorce of the crash detached the gas
Dag, which floated away when freed
of the gondola IS weight.
Reports of the crash were current
in Moscow last night and all during
today, but officials refused to con-
firm it until after it had been an
nounced to the Communist congress.
Flight Kept Secret Y
The three balloonists, Paul Fedo-
seenko, pilot; Andrew Vasenko,
builder of the Gondola, and lila Us
iskin, a physicist from the Lenin-
grad Academy of Science, had been
in training for their tasks for
months.
The balloon was large, with a gas
capacity of 24,9OO cubic meters.
The flight was surprise" one,
starting off without advance notice.
Few knew that the balloon had gone
UP from military air field near
Moscow, and it could not be seen
because of murky sky.
For hours the balloonists kept in
touch with the earth by radio, how
ever. At noon yesterday they sent
message which said:
1--WE hear you perfectly and are
continuing our scientific observa-
tions without interruption. We are
studying the cosmic rays, the con-
dition of the atmosphere, etc. The
temperature within the gondola is
20 degrees (68 degrees Fahrenheit.)
After $40 p. m. the messages
ceased.