RUSSIANS BAR EVIDENCE OF GERMANS AND AMERICANS

Grey River Argus, 15 April 1948, Page 5

RUSSIANS BAR EVIDENCE OF GERMANS AND AMERICANS

(Rec. 9.50) LONDON, April 14. There has been a. breakdown in the joint AngloRussian inquiry into the Gatow air disaster on April 5, when a British Viking airliner, in the Berlin air corridor, crashed after colliding with a Soviet Yak plane, and there were no survivors. The Berlin correspondent of The Times says: — The inquiry broke down on Tuesday at its third meeting. General Alexandrov, the senior Russian representative, declared that, as it was a two-Power inquiry, only Russian and British evidence could be heard.

Air Comodore R. N. Waite (Britain) replied that the British intention was to hear all of the witnesses, whatever their nationality. Both American and German witnesses were available, and, since American lives.were lost in the disaster, it would be impossible to exclude the American witnesses merely because they were Americans. He refused to accept the Russian view that German evidence would not be reliable. A separate British inquiry, he added, would open to-day (Wednesday), and he invited the Russians to attend this. He told General Alexandrov that in consequence of the Russian refusal the possibility of an agreed report was remote. He hoped the Russians would continue to be present at the British investigation. The British would make available all the evidence obtained to the Russians.

The Associated Press correspondent says the British decision to continue the inquiry, leaving it to the Russians to attend means the virtual breakdown of the inquiry.

The Times Berlin correspondent says: “It seems improbable that the Russians will attend the inquiry. It would be more in keeping with the recent Russian policy if the Russians were to announce that the British, by refusing to continue a two-Power investigation in a manner prescribed by the Soviet representative, arc responsible for bringing this inquiry to an end.”

The correspondent adds that there has never been the slightest doubt that what the Russians were aiming at was not an impartial investigation, but an inquiry which would produce a report showing that responsibility for the disaster lay with the British pilot and the British air control officials.