SUN RISES ON HAVOC IN MADRID

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 291, 21 November 1936, Page 5

SUN RISES ON HAVOC IN MADRID

RELENTLESS AERIAL BOMBARDMENT WRECKS CAPITAL I »■ ■■ ■■■■ ■ , FORTY WOMEN AND CHILDREN KILLED IN FOOD QUEUE. TWO CROWDED TRAMS BLOWN TO FRAGMENTS. (Press Association—Copyright.) Received 1 1 a.m. To-day. V £.• MADRID, November 20. Only when dawn broke could the havoc of yesterday’s air raid be assessed. Tram lines were torn up, buildings smashed and and there were gaping holes in the city’s “Piccadilly Circus.’’ During the bombing thousands fled to cellars, in one of which, in the Atocha area, fifty were entombed. It is believed that,a hundred and fifty were buried in the ruins of houses. Forty women and children were killed or wounded in one food queue and two crowded trams were blown to fragments. Thousands of cold and foodless people are now huddled in cellars. The extent of the food shortage is indicated by many' cafes displaying notice boards: “No more food.’’ The Communist leaders are now planning to evacuate the civilian population. Prince Alfonso Bourbon, a relative of ex-King Alfonso, was killed when a rebel ’plane crashed, and it is officially announced that Jose Primo de Rivero, former Dictator, was executed by a loyalist firing squad. A London message states that a telegram signed by a number of parliamentarians and others, including Geoffrey Mander, Wilfrid Roberts, D. N. Pratt, Aldous Huxley, and Rose Macaulay has been sent to Madrid. It states that public opinion in England is horrified by the criminal bombardment of Madrid. BRITAIN WILL NOT TOLERATE SEIZURE OF SHIPS. GENERAL FRANCO’S PROPOSED BLOCKADE OF BARCELONA. (Press Association—Copyright.) Received Noon To-day. LONDON, November 20. Mr. R. A. Eden’s statement in the House of Commons is taken to indicate that the seizure and search of British ships outside the three-mile limit would not be tolerated. (In the House of Commons, in reply to Mr. A V. Alexander, withregard to the proposed blockade and possible bombardment of .Barcelona, Mr. R. A. Eden, Foreign Secretary, said that Britain’s position remained governed by the rules followed since the dispute began. In regard to the protection of British shipping, the rules which normally governed international action in such matters would be pursued by His Majesty’s ships in defence of British interests. A later message from Madrid states that General Franco, for the maintenance of the proposed blockade, has disposed eight warships, two gunboats, one cruiser, and two destroyers none of which is near Barcelona. The Loyalists possess sixteen warships and two submarines, but lack trained officers. . In Madrid itself, the latest advice states that a violent storm has brought aerial warfare to a standstill and hampered general operations.