The Daily Alaska empire., 1950-02-10
RESCUE NEAR
 FOR VICTIMS,
 pLANE(RASH
Two Parties on Way of Top of Mountain-Doltor, Food
 and Supplies Are Dropped

W1llEf1NttoE, l. l., rcb. lV-thi A second ground rescue party ot about 10 men today joined in the growing effort to take aid to 10 other men marooned on Yukon mountain top after their Dakota search plane crashed.
 The stranded men have been on the bleak. wind-swept peak since Tuesday. They were spotted next day by another search plane. A ground party started in to get them in weasel" snowmobiles. To speed the effort. five men including doctor parachuted to the mountain top yesterday.
 Today, there was still no wort whether the first party had reached it's goal, and the second party trav- cling in six weasels set out.
 Heavy clouds blanketed the moun- tain top and light snow was falling as the second party struck out up the canyon through 20below-zero weather.
 The second party, led by Major George Gormley of Reading, Mass. expected to establish camps at in- tervals.
 Bad weather which has hampered the search from the outset, Jan. 26. again held up operations today. Only three C-54's were sent aloft as a deep blanket of clouds obscured treacherous mountain tops.
 Food, Medical Aid
 Food and medical assistance was taken to the stranded airmen yes terday by a team of six daring para troopers who plummeted to the tree- less slope while a ground rescue party fought it's way slowly toward the spot.
 The parachutists, who leaped from Canadian Air Force plane, all landed safely within 300 yards of the marooned men, some of whom were badly in need of medical care.
 A short time later. another Royal Canadian Air Force Dakota (Ca- madam equivalent of the U.S.A.F. CAD dropped pup tents and half a cord of fire wood to the huddled party.
 The 10 men. five US. airmen and five Canadian soldiers, were aboard a CAT which crashed Tuesday night during the two-week-old search for C-54 carrying A persons.
 Leg, Arm Fractured
 Included among the rescue party was doctor from Ladd Field. Fair banks, Alaska-Major s. J. Bac- zewski of Conshohocken, Pa.; to at tend the three airmen who suffered leg and arm fractures in the crash. Working toward the group, camped on the bald slope 1000 feet up the mountain, was another l2- man rescue crew going overland from Pon Lake, Is miles away.
 The overland party, dogged by hard luck, had only one Of it's orig inal four snow weasels at last re- ports. Three had lost their tracks in tough going along the bottom of Aishihik Creek, which winds through canyon to the base of the noun tain.
 Helic0pter at Scene A helicopter was held at Pon Lake to evacuate the crash victims.
 Meanwhile, search officials plan- ned to, send more planes into the area southwest of Watson Lake in an effort to check series of SOS signals reported by ham" radio operator in South Dakota. The operator. Bob Wagner, of Lead, SD.. said the signals werd , received Wednesday and gave the position at 130 w and 50 N, followed by the letters NO Flo :. :" Then the signal faded. but Wagner said he ! though the last word was food. 1 Search officials treated the re- port with caution and emphasized that the Watson Lake area had been searched repeatedly since the <l V-