LINER’S TREASURE

Hokitika Guardian, 7 October 1931, Page 8

LINER’S TREASURE

DIVERS NEARING GOAL. THE EGYPT'S BULLION. The P. andlt liner Egypt, which foundered oft' Ushant, France, in 1922, is about to deliver up its treasure — £1,000,000 in bullion. According to the Brest correspondent of the ‘‘Tribuna,” a Rome newspaper, divers from the salvage ship Artiglio have exploded a terrific dynamite charge which completely opened the strong room in which the. bullion is stored. The divers state the cases containing the specie-are plainly discernible and the work of bringing the precious metal to <ihe surface Will t"gill almost immediately. The apparatus which will raise the specie consists of steel jaws covered with metal which automatically close round the whole object, thereby ensuring that even if the cases broke, no gold could drop out. For weeks past divers have been tearing a way into the ship with dynamite bombs and steel grapnels, and blasting a big hole above the spot where the bullion is stored in the strong room, thus preparing for the great explosion winch was to reveal the sunken treasure. The Egypt sank after colliding with tV t ren .i steamer seine in the Bay of (Biscay with the loss of 87 lives. Three previous attempts had been made to locate the treasure—one by a Swedish expedition and another by a French expedition. Both located the vessel, but they could not penetrate the hold. The present expedition is under the charge of the Societe Ricuperi Marittimi, the Italian salvage company, commonly called ‘ “Sonina,” which has resumed the work at the .stage at which it was left when Artiglio I. blew up.