STORM OF FIRE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 November 1943, Page 3

STORM OF FIRE

SWEEPS THROUGH BERLIN ENTIRE BLOCKS ENVELOPED IN FLAMES BLOCK-BUSTERS ROCK ALL DISTRICTS (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) (Received This Day, 10.45 a.m.) LONDON, November 24. Reuter’s Stockholm correspondent says the raid on Berlin last night started gigantic new fires and caused very heavy damage, especially in Western Berlin, near the big Zoo. The Potsdammer Railway Station and adjacent warehouses are reported to have been devastated.

Correspondents of Swedish newspapers- refer to walls of flame over half a mile long after last night’s raid. The “Allehanda’s” Berne correspondent states that it is believed that 25,000 persons were killed in Monday night’s raid and estimates that the R.A.F. used 900 planes in last night’s attack. The' “Afton Tidningen” states that all work in Berlin factories and offices is at a standstill, as everybody is being employed in rescue and salvage operations. Entire districts of the capital are burning fiercely. Explosions from block-busters rocked all sections of Berlin last night, but fires provided the worst horrors. A storm cloud of ashes swept through the streets, accompanied by terrific gusts of flame caused by the peculiar effect of bomb blasts. The explosions appeared to create a vacuum, followed by a cyclone-like wave of fire. The fire-fighting service was incapable of handling its task. Entire blocks ten to twelve squares long were enveloped in flames this morning, resulting in a summer-like temperature in the city.