Jasper County Democrat, Volume 15, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 July 1912 — BALLOON BURSTS; FIVE ARE KILLED [ARTICLE]

BALLOON BURSTS; FIVE ARE KILLED

Vaniman Craft Collapses in Test at Atlantic City. SUN CAUSE OF EXPLOSION Headless Body of Flyer’s Brother , Shoots From Car Into Sea, Is i Recovered Others Entangled in Wreck. Atlantic City, N J., July 3.—Melvin Vaniman and his crew of four men •'’ere killed here when his balloon, the Ykron, in which lie intended to make 1 trip across the Atlantic ocean, exploded hall' a mile in the air. Vani- 1 man’s home is Akron, O. •; When the accident occurred 3,000 j spectators stood too startled to utter 1 single sound. The big balloon was shattered by the explosion of the gas bag and blown to atoms. It was half a mile off shore over Absecon inlet. Four Bodies Not Recovered. The five men who disappeared in the explosion, and four of whose bodies are entangled in the wreckage, were: Melvin Vaniman, builder of the airship. Calvin Vaniman, ,his younger brother. - Fred Elmer, member of crew. Walter Guest, member of crew. George Bourtillion, member of crew. The cause of the fire and explosion is believed to have been expansion from the rays of the run, which had been up only a short time, when it heat apparently became too great for the gas within the bag. The dirigible was sailing at a height of 1,000 feet and had been in the air since 6:15 o’clock when the accident occurred. It was a quarter of a mile south of Brigantine Beach, which is across the inlet from this city. It burst near the middle. A -mass of flames hid the . ship from view-. For a Bpace of possibly ten seconds the half-mlllion-dollar dirigible was invisible, while the air about the spot where it had been hovering seemed to be all flames. The fire dissipated and then the ship, outlined against the sunrise, was- seen to fall like a plummet.

One Body Shoots Out. In the descent something which appeared to be the body of a man shot aut to the left of the wreckage and hit the water before the rest of the descending mass. It was reported that this was the headless body of Calvin Vaniman. Later a message was relayed ashore from rescuers that this body had been recovered. With it came the statement from Captain Lambert Parker of the Absecon federal life-saving crew that the other four members of the crew were entangled in the wreckage beyond reach for the present, in eighteen feet of water. Efforts are «to be made to drag them to the surface. Mrs. Vaniman in Collapse. Thousands of persons were gathered along the inlet, boardwalk and about the Vaniman cottage, Just across from the hangar, at the inlet, where Mrs. Vaniman collapsed from the shock. A physician is in attendance. Ll.