European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 22, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 2 the stars and stripes sunday december 22, 1985 firefighters Bailie a Blaze set off by an explosion Early saturday morning at an Oil storage farm in Naples Italy. 3 killed scores injured when blast ignites Blaze at italian Oil tank farm Naples Italy a a predawn explosion ripped through an Oil tank farm saturday killing three people and injuring More than 160, the ministry of civil Protection said. The blare raged out of control for More than seven hours after the Early morning explosion. Two air Tanker planes dumped firc retardant foam on the flames. The fire belched columns of thick smoke that spread a Black Cloud Over 20 Square Miles of the Bay of Naples. Officials feared the flames would spread to a nearby Mobil Oil co. Refinery. A Rome spokeswoman for the ministry of civil Protection Anna Maria Greco said 8 Mother and her adult daughter were killed when their House was knocked Down by the blast at the nearby Oil storage facility. The facility belongs to the slate owned Agio Petroleum company. She said the third death was that of an Agio worker. One Agio employee was missing she said. Nineteen people were hospitalized from injuries suffered in the blast and fire that engulfed neighbouring buildings she said. She said 142 were treated for injuries but not admitted to hospitals. Earlier reports from City officials indicated As Many As 280 people were injured. Agio spokesman Paola Roselli said 32 Oil and gasoline storage tanks were involved. In All the tanks have a capacity of 3.4 million cubic feet but at the time of the blast they held Only about 875,000 cubic feet of fuel. Minister of civil Protection Giuseppe Zamberletti coordinated emergency efforts at the scene. Officials said people were evacuated from surrounding buildings including a seven Story Structure and smaller Homes. Reinforcements for fighting the fire were brought in and arrangements were made for extra foam to be flown Down from Milan 450 Miles to the North. Radio stations said seriously burned peo ple were being airlifted to Hospital throughout Italy. Giuseppe Bossa another Agio official in Naples told the associated press an enormous Stock has been lost. All 24 Stor age tanks have been he said it was too Early to estimate the Cost of the damage. The Oil storage facility is located in the St. Rasmo neighbourhood of Naples. The cause of the explosion has nol yet been determined but Ansa the italian news Agency said officials have not excluded the possibility the fire was deliberate. News update chairlift safety Denver a Paris will be replaced in four chairlifts in Colora do and Var Mon similar to one that broke at a Central Rockies ski resort a representative of the manufacturer said. It s not that we believe there s any thing wrong with them we just want to make sure nothing like this happens again said Gary Stoll vice Reid Cut of lift engineering and manufacturing co. In Carson City nov. Forty nine skiers were catapulted from the lift after a wheel at the top of the lift fell off its Shaft. Search for mias Washington a a High ranking government delegation received assurances during a visit to Laos that a . Excavation team will be allowed to visit a crash site to search for missing american service men the state department said. Deputy spokesman Charles red Man said the laotians also affirmed prior assurances that try will permit Adili Vional joint excavations during the current dry season. The delegation headed by assist ant Secretary of state Paul Wolf win visited the laotian capital of Vii Liana. It was the firs visit to Laos by an official of Wolf Wilz i rank since 1978. Toys for soldiers kids new York a children of soldiers killed in the crash of a chartered aircraft in Gander newfound land will be Given toys and games by some of the nation s largest toy companies the new York times reported. The aircraft that crashed on dec. 12 was carrying 248 members of the i Olst airborne div Home to fort Campbell ky., after they had served six months with the International peacekeeping Force in the Sinai de Sert. The shipments were organized by americ arcs a Southern Connecticut based foundation that has helped earthquake victims in Mexico and afghan refugees the newspaper said. Many of the children were waiting at the Airport for their fathers to re turn for the holidays when they Learned that the plane had crashed and there were no survivors. Nicaraguan rebels reportedly smuggle cocaine Washington a cocaine smuggling by nicaraguan rebels operating in Northern Costa Rica has provided profits to help finance their War against Nicara Gua s leftist govern Cal according to . Investigators and volunteers who work with the rebels. The smuggling activity has involved re fueling planes at Clandestine airstrips and sometimes helping transport cocaine to other Costa rican Points for shipment to the United states . Officials said. The officials who refused to be identified by name said the smuggling involves individuals from the largest of the .-backed Contra groups the nicaraguan demo cratic Force fun and inc revolutionary democratic Alliance arde As Well As a splinter group known As m-3. A Leader of m-3, Sebastian Gonzalez Mendiola was indicted in Costa Rica on cocaine trafficking charges a year ago. No other Contra leaders have been charged. Fun spokesman Bosco Matamoros de Nied any drug involvement by his group. He said fun has provided support for Contra troops in Costa Rica but has never con ducted any operations in that country. Levy Sanchez a Miami based spokes Man for arde Leader Eden Pastora said arde has never been involved in any drug a new National intelligence estimate a secret analysis by the Central intelligence Agency on narcotics trafficking alleges that one of arde s top commanders used cocaine profits this year to buy a $250,000 arms shipment and a helicopter according to a . Government official in washing ton. President Reagan this year accused the leftist government of Nicaragua of Export ing drugs to Poison our youth after a nicaraguan government employee Federico Vaughan was indicted by a Federal grand jury in Miami. A spokesman for the drug enforcement administration said Aba investigators Are still not sure if sandinista leaders were involved. Costa Rica located South of Nicaragua is a Short flight from the drug producing areas of Colombia. Contra leaders claim a combined Force of about 20,000, with most fighters based in Honduras. The Costa rican based rebels several thousand at most arc nol As Well organized than those in Honduras and Are very poorly financed. Associated press reporters interviewed officials from the Dea customs service Fri and Costa Rica s Public Security ministry As Well As rebels and americans who work with them. The sources both inside government and out spoke Only on the condition that they nol be identified by name. Five american rebel supporters said Thuv were willing to talk about the drug smug gling because they feared illegal activities would ultimately discredit the War Effort several of the volunteers said they supplied information about the smuggling to us investigators. Three . Officials who Monitor drug traffic from Colombia through Central America to the United states said they began receiving reports about Contra involvement in cocaine shipments in 1984 about the time Congress Cut off Cia fund ing to the Contra rebels. Each official said he considered inc reports reliable one official said a rebel Leader in Costa Erh ? have ncreasin8y used Remote airfields in Northern Costa Rica for ship Ping cocaine into the United states but that Dea Headquarters in Washington did nol know the political affiliations of Tho involved. Costa rican Public Security minister Benjamin Piza said he had no knowledge of contras even being in his country but he said that every farm has an Airstrip and we Don t have the resources to control four americans who trained rebel in Costa rican base Camps said they discovered the Contra smuggling involvement Early this year. These americans said two cuban Ameri cans while helping inc honduran based fun open a Cosla rican front used armed rebel troops to guard cocaine flown from Colombia to Clandestine airfields in North Ern Costa Rica. The american rebel backers said the cuban american drug traffickers wore members of the 2506 brigade an anti cat Iro group that participated in the 1961 Bay of pigs attack on Cuba. An american rebel Backer with close tie to the cuban american smugglers de scribed an operation that works in the Fol lowing Way the cocaine is unloaded from planes at rebel airstrips and is taken to an Atlantic Ocean port. Then it is concealed on shrimp boats that Are later unloaded in the Miami area
