BLOWN TO PIECES

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 138, 9 December 1930, Page 9

BLOWN TO PIECES

FAMOUS SALVAGE SHIR

EXPLOSIVES IGNITE

SEARCHING FOR TREASURE

United Press Association—By Electric Tel«>» graph—Copyright. Received 9lh December, 11 a.m.). ' PARIS, Bth December. • ' The famous Italian salvage ship* Arfiglio, which was used to recover; the treasure from the sunken steamer Egypt, has been blown up. Fourteen men were killed and seven are in hospital. Fishermen picked up' the survivors. The explosion occurred when thg vessel was clearing wreckage in tha channel off Quiberon Bay. The; vessel carried a large quantity of explosives. She sank immediately after the explosion. Two divers working at the time were, cut off and drowned. Their bodies were later, recovered. The explosion was due to the ignition of several hundreds of tons of explosives on the feight steamer, France, on which the divers were working. The Artiglio was two1 hundred yards from the France, butl the explosion was so violent that she was blown to pieces. The Artiglio was a steel, single-screw, steamer of 284 terns, and was built b.yj Messrs. Maokie and Thomson, at Glas^ gow in 1906 for Italian owners to ba used as a fishing vessel. She was 148.8 ft long, 23ft wide, and lift ia| depth. In August last, with the Eaffio, she engaged in a search for the sunken; Egypt in an endeavour to salvage overj £1,000,000 worth of bullion which had! been lying at the bottom of the sci since the ship went down in. 1922 ol? the coast of Trance. The explosives were used for blowing the wreck t»; pieces in order to get at the bullion,