Evening star., 1959-12-04
Mass Funeral Held for About 135
Of 1919 Known Dead in Dam Disaster


muck and debris for more VIC
tins.
Nearly 5000 persons filled
the square alongside Freius
Hospital as the Most Rev. Henri
Mazerat gave absolution to the
dead. About 1876 pine caskets
were laid out in the square, each
with a name cnalked on the
lid.
Behind the bishop in a hos
pital corridor were 40 other
caSketS-the unidentified dead.
On one caSket was scrawled,
in chalk: Little girl, wearing a
red dress"
So Children Victims
The services were for all the
identified dead, with burialS
by each family in private. Many
Of these families still awaited
word of missing relatives.
Frejus officials said the count
of dead has reached 199, in
cluding So children, with about
100 persons missing. Some of
the latter were beginning to
turn up.
Only one foreigner, q Bel
gian, was reported dead
About 65 were injured. Some
80 we're still hoSpitalized.
The mass funeral was asked
by officials in an effort to clear
crowded hospitals - where
shrouded bodies lined the cor
ridorS-and make room for the
living.
5000 Troops Assist
Helicopters, ambulanceS and
some 5000 troops famed out
over the 4-mile-long Reyran
River valley, where the NAL
passet Dam crumbled Wednes-
day night. sending a raging
wall of water through the low
country to the Mediterranean.
Work. teams carrying food
and fresh water moved into
isolated areas to aid survivors.
Usual water facilities were pol /
luted by the flood, and an out
break of disease was feared.
Long lines of people gath
cred around tank-trucks bring
ing in water.
Army bulldozers were called
in to clear the silt-clogged
roads of the valley.
Expressions of sympathy
poured in from around the
world.
The United States 9Th Fleet
new in penicillin and water
publication chemicals. Capt.
r. B. Kelly of Norfolk, Va,
went ashore at Frejus to offer
the valley anything that we
can possibly do"
The feet few in 1000 loaves
Of bread yesterday and more
was coming in by helicopter.
The diculty Of estimating the
toll was underscored by Georges
Galichon, chief aide to French
Interior Minister Pierre Chate-
net. After touring the disaster
area, which stretches more
than 4 miles back from the
Mediterranean to the dam site,
Mr.. Galichon reported that
more than 100 homes were
ripped from their foundations
by the water.
Entire Families Lost
Entire families, drowned. 1t
was feared many residents were
buried in the thick brown silt
left by the food. Mr.. Galichon
said the silt, more than 8 feet |
deep in some areas, was like
quicksand, and rescue workers |
were unable to search there.
1t also was feared that many
of the missing had been swept
into the sea.
Weary rescue workers, their
clothes soaked and muddy,
halted their search about mid
night.
There's no one left out there
alive" said one. Everything is
deathly quiet"
Red Cross officials, military
personnel and residents of
nearby communities distributed
food, limited supplies OF drink
ing water and clothing among
the survivors. The homeless
were housed in schools or taken
into private homes that es-
capped the flood.
Relief Funds Pour In
Radio-TV appeals for assist
ance had brought in $500, 900
by midnight, including a $2,025
contribution from Prince Rain
ier III of Monaco. The Reyran
Valley is only a few miles west
of Rainier's little principality
on the Riviera.
Ofhcials still could find no
explanation for the break in
the 185-foot-high steel and
concrete dam that unleashed
nearly 10 billion gallons of
water on the sleeping valley
below. The dams designated
holding capacity was So million
cubic meters. An estimated 40
million cubic meters were be-
hind it when it burst.
At the time it was completed
in, 1858, the dams 22-foot
thickness was the thinnest in
the world, but since then SIM