Evening star., 1946-11-21
.HopeDiminishes
For II in Alps
AS Hunt Goes On
Bitter Winds Sweep
Scene Of Landing
By Army Transport
BY the Assoeiatsd prss.

PARIS, Nov. 21.-American au-
thorities at Orly Airfield tonight
held out diminishing hope for
the IL persons aboard a crashed
.C-53 transport unless rescue
crews within few hours reached
the spot in the Alps where the
plane came down two days ago.
They pointed out the 12,0OO-foot-
high area was swept by bitter cold
winds. United States Army head
quarters at Frankfurt reported a
radio message saying eight of the II
were stretcher cases.
The passengers included a briga-
dier general and the wives of three
brigadier generals.
The Lyon Airport radio station
reported message that some one
on the ground" had been sighted,
but it did not know whether this
referred to the planes occupants
or to rescue parties toiling up the
snow-clad slopes of the Mount
Gents region.
Announcement Premature.
A mysterious radio message led to
a premature announcement of the
planes discovery. Col Hilbert F.
Muenter, commander of the United
States European Air Transport
Service, made the announcement
and then withdrew it. This mes
sage, saying the wreckage had been
sighted on glacier, was attributed
to one of the search planes. but
other planes said they had no
knowledge of it.
The Lyon-Bron radio announced
a message from the V-53 at 6 pm.
III am. EST saying I'VE want to
live"
A VISA circled the area 10 hours
in clear weather without sighting
any wreckage. The weather was
beginning to close in as the pilot
left the district.
United States Army headquarters
III Vienna said the wrecked planes
radio, its signal extremely weak, sent
out the following message:
Eight stretcher cases. Urgent we
receive clothes, food and medical
aid today Weather clear, overcast
to east.
!. Heavy Clouds Hamper Planes.
4 Army authorities in Vienna said
'la heavy cloud bank from 5000 to
10000 feet was hampering British
and American planes flying over
the area and that deep snowdrifts
impeded the ground rescue teams.
Among the rescue teams is a de-
tachment of American mountain
infantry sent out by Gen. John C.
Fl. Lee, American commander in
the Mediterranean theater.
| The airport at Istres, France, said
Pan American Airways plane had
sighted the wreckage of the trans
port, but officials of the company
at its Turin Office said none of its
planes which landed there had
sighted it.
Among the passengers were Brig.
Gen. Loyal M. Haynes, former Dep
utya Chief of Staff of Australian
Forces in Austria; Gen. Haynes
wife, and the wives of Brig. Gems.
Ralph II. Tate and Ralph Snavely.
Mrs. Tate is the mother of the
planes pilot, Capt. Ralph H. Tate, jr.
Searchers Toll Up Slopes.
Ground rescue parties, composed
Of expert mountaineers, American
Army doctors and nurses and French
Alpine troops, meanwhile, toiled up
steep mountain slopes i'll an effort
to reach the scene of the crash.
They were spurred on by reports
last night that signal lights and
smoke signals had been sighted in
the vicinity where the plane was
believed to have landed
The British Air Ministry an
nounced that one of its transport
planes saw faint red light wink
ing from a high mountain ridge
east Of Grenoble near dusk last
night, but said bad weather had
baked efforts to drop rescue equip
ment and supplies to the C-53.
Smoke Seen in Southern Alps.
In the same general region noun
taineers said they saw smoke COM
ing from a spot in the towering
southern Alps.
| A. Dupeyron, "a noncommissioned
officer in French Alpine battalion
conducting the land search, said
that from his post at st. Jean de
tSee CRASH, Page A-59