Fraternity fire kills five, injures three
■ DEATH: A bla?e gutted
the Urwersjty of North
Carotma house hours
before graduation
CHAPEL HILL. N.C. {API —
An early morning fraternity
hnuw fir* killed five people
Sunday, bringing tragedy u« »b*
Univanity of North Carolina
' Jtntuu.* just hours W»i« ** Mtutuai
Mother** Day graduation cere
nrnniaa.
The cauaa of the biaxe that
gutted the interior of the Phi
(lamina Delta house wa* not
expected to be known for three
or four day*, laid Fir* Depart
ment spokeswoman fan
Cotttdm.
The identities of the dead
were not released
Ben Kubank*. 31. a junior and
former president of the fraterni
ty, was hospitalized in serious
condition Adam {ones, a 21
year-old junior and a member of
the fraternity, was in fair condi
tion; and Anne Glenn, 21. not
enrolled in the university, was
listed in critical condition
Hospital officials would not
disclose the nature of their
injuries.
After the fire was doused, a
search of the charred ruins for
env «dclitlon*l vuiimi wont
•lowIf Ikkiuw of eatensive
damage *nd foot* port of the
three atorv Hrt* k budding might
collapse
Br earlv evening. < row* wore
working to thorn up the fine* and
second floor* of the HO ywar old
building, which had collapsed
into the hatamanl Fire t hief
thin lonee wtpet ted the search to
continue through p*rt of the
night
The building did not have e
sprinkler system, hut one of the
injured said be was awakened
by a fire alarm Junes would not
say when the house was last
inspected for fire safety
At graduation ceremonies,
chancellor Michael Hooker
briefly mentioned the Are, offer
ing prayer* for those who were
injured He did not mention the
deaths Most of the 30.000 in
attendance were unaware how
had the fire was,
Tim Reid, president of neigh
boring f’hi Rapps Sigma frater
niiy, saw a blare out of control
when he woke up
"We went to the third floor
window and looked out and
flames were leaping over the top
of the building." said Reid. 22.
of Southern Pinea. "We could
see the smoke coming out and
lb* flantM coming mil of the
window 1 know it bid to be hod
I mu )u.«t hoping nobody ws*
inside "
A party *i the Phi Umm*
fbdta houw Saturday night wm
Mill going strong when h* went
to bed about I a m Sunday.
Raid mid.
The Phi Gamma tiwlta chapter
ws* placed OH indefinite sue
pension in Nov, I9BS by its
nation*) office a flat chapter
member* sent prospective
recruits a letter advertising strip*
pen and saying their parties
were so loaded with drunken
sorority women that opnortunl
tie* for an were assured
Hooker went to the fire scene
following graduation cere
monies
"We are profoundly saddened
by the tragic fir* this morning."
Hooker said "This It a lost
being felt deeply by the entire
community."
Firefighters found the build
mg in flame* when they reached
the scene after it was reported
shortly after 6 a to , Jones said
The cause of the blase wasn't
immediately known
A uni vanity counseling can
ter was open to friends and Inn
ily of fire victims, the school
said.
109 feared dead in Everglades plane crash
■ DISASTER: The DC-9 ValuJet flight
nose-dived eight minutes after take-off
into a deep, murky swamp
MIAMI (API — No survivors. no bodies. no hope
on Mother's Day
Authorities on Sunday called oft the xanh for
possible survivor* of the crash of Valufet Plight
592. which nose-dived into the Everglades with
104 passengers and five crew member*
"One hundred and nine mothers that are not
doing too good right now." Hill Boland muttered
to a fellow ambulance driver at mtdtnoming
The DC-9 had been in the air only eight minutes
on a Saturday afternoon flight to Atlanta when the
crew reported smoke in the cockpit They attempt
ed to turn around but the plane crashed about 15
miles northwest of Miami International Airport
The source of the cockpit smoke was unknown
The swamp yielded ptet.es of clothing Sunday,
in addition to a family photo album and a floating
airplane neat that were found Saturday
"There’s no evidence of the plane It’s gone."
said Bret Kugg. 41. of Richmond. Ind . whose wife
Terri was on the plane. He had take., his two turns.
«ges 5 and 11. to meet their mother on her return
from a cruise she made as a travel agency owner
I don't know what I'm going to do." he said
(dearer pictures of the passengers emerged Sun
day . a Baptist church organist and hi* wife on a
dream vacation, a young man preparing for mis
sionary work in hu native Venezuela, a mother
and her daughter who had become "real friends"
in recent years
Also among those on Flight 592 were San Diego
Chat-gar* running back Rodney Culver and hi*
wife. Karen of Woodstock, (a
"These are human tarings." Valufet Airlines Inc.
President Cewt* Ionian said of the victims at a
Sunday morning news conference in Miami
"Every human being in every seat of the airplane
is a life and a loved one with stones to tell, with
friends, with places to go If* Mother's Day week
end. we know that."
The discount airline, based in Atlanta, has had
«i least three « < uienf* tine* tl began operations in
l'W3 TV tnoet Mrioai was a runway fin* last year
that destroyed a plane and burned * flight etten
dant
Workers at the remote trash site spent the mom
tng trying to determine ho** to mover the remain*
and wreckage, including the airplane's flight data
and cockpit voice recorder*
The wreckage was buried under waist high
water and tayere of lawgnwa and swamp muck —
estimated to be up to 40 feet thick in plate* Tem
per*turns were in the mid HO* under steady, bright
sunshine
“If they’re out of here before two week*. I'll tie
surprised," said Metro Dade Detective Ed Muon.
The Everglades — duIdled the River of Grass —
is a desolate expanse nf swamp covering much of
southern Florida The area is home to alligators,
snakes and other wildlife and is accessible most
ly by airboat
Divers wore protective rubber suits after suffer
tng irritated skin Saturday from aviation fuel and
hydraulic fluid They searched the muck bv hand,
unable to *«*# more than a few inches in front of
them in the water
Jordan said he took full responsibility for the
crash, but added there was no Indication anything
wa* wrong before the 27 year old plane took off A
list of the plane's past problem* showed nothing
out of the ordinary, he said
Federal Aviation Administration records
showed the crashed |et had returned to airport*
seven times during l he past two years lea a use of
various maintenance problems, from an oil leak to
loss of cabin pressure.
"I have reviewed the list and saw such things
as overheating of a constant speed drive, a pres
suricatiun problem and a dour ajar," Jordan said
He said he found nothing "abnormal or struck ing“
lire plane had a thorough annual inspection in
October and a routine inspection four days before
Ihe crash But the FA A began a specie) investiga
tion of the airline in February baaed on the com
pany't rapid growth and several recent incidents.
Troubled online service
given boost by takeover
NEW YORK (API — A
grown ai investor* announced
Sunday tkev had acquired
ih* troubled Prodigy Service*
Co commercial unit nr ««r
vie* from It* owner*. IBM
Cof|» end Soon, Roebuck
out Co.
The takeover we* led by
Prodigy management, tncliwf
Ing prraldm! and thief «*c
tiliv* officer Ed Bennett, ami
International Window* Inc., a
global ( omntunk aliniM tom
pony. Bennett will continue
to ewve in throe podium*
Prodigy need* to invert
heavily in new *y*tem» and
marketing to keep pace with
it* rival*. AniMic* Online
ami CompuServe
"Thi* give* us a real clear
ownership *tru* tun*. ami the
doud around Prodigy U
remove*!." «aid Bennett in a
tetephona interview Sunday
"The beleaguered, trouble
tome day* for Prodigy are
over ”
The deal *!tll must meet
regulatory apprv.t, »|
tinder the deal. Interna
litmal Wirwtea* of Cambridge,
Meat , wilt own Prodigy with
Bennett and other manager*
running the company
UO Cultural Forum Presents Hh> hirst Annual
Monday, May27 Memorial Doy \
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