European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 1, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Inside stripes d Iran commandos attack kuwaiti ship Page 2 d pledge of support gives students new incentive Page 5 d stripes takes look at fall fashions daily Magazine Tut Horried unofficial  of 1mb . Aimed cd ii vol.46. No. 136 tuesday september 1,1 987 0 6693 a amex lodges formal protest Over contract by William j. Bar Man Washington Bureau Washington the american express Bank monday officially pro tested the loss of its military banking contracts for Germany the Netherlands tid Greece delaying the switch to a new Bank for perhaps months. The formal protest filed with the Gen eral accounting office prevents the department of defense from proceeding with efforts to establish merchants National Bank of Indianapolis hid., at the 134 banking outlets involved until the american express Effort to get its con tract Back is resolved. American express complaint centers around deficiencies in the Dod Selec Tion process said Bank spokesman Wil sae Amelco on Page 28 57 miners missing in s. Africa Accident Welkom South Africa a an elevator carrying dozens of Gold miners apparently plunged to the Bottom of a 4,5t 1-foot mine Shaft monday mine officials said. At least eight men died. Fifty seven men were unaccounted for mine officials said. Mine manager Gregory Maude said the missing men were believed to have been in the Eleva Tor that fell after a Cable snapped. Rescuers reported finding eight men dead and five alive at a Small pumping nation off the main Shaft about 2.227 feet underground said Harry Hill spokesman for general mining Union corp., known As go nor. Maude manager of the St. Helena Gold mine in Welkom 140 Miles South West of Johannesburg said that before the bodies and survivors were found res Cue workers heard voices coming Fromich pumping station. The mining company reported at one Point that 92 miners were trapped by an explosion. But Maude said later he was nol certain an explosion hid occurred. The Accident happened As thousands of Black miners were returning to their jobs following a nationwide strike. Gun Cor said there was no evidence to suggest the Accident was related to the strike. About 70 percent of the 10,000 employees of the no. 10 Shaft at the St. Helena mine continued to work during the strike. The mining company said 434 work ers were underground at inc time of the Accident and most were evacuated by crossing through tunnels to a parallel Shaft. Gen Cor s mines have had two major accidents in the past year. The St. Helena mine was one of Doz ens targeted by Black miners in South Africa s longest costliest mine strike a 3-Wcck-old walkout that ended sunday the strike was settled when the National Union of Mikewo racers agreed to a package of slightly improved benefits that Union members had overwhelmingly rejected last week. Negotiators said wages which had been the focus of the dispute were not discussed sunday. Tens of millions of dollars in wages and corporate profits were lost and at least 7,000 miners lost their jobs when one company closed two Gold mineshaft that it said were unprofitable. The settlement offer raises miners vacation pay by 10 percent and provides death benefits for three years Raiher than two. Sets photo by 5t0vq Morykon buses deliver students to Heidelberg Middle school on opening Day. 85,000-Pius students begin Dodds year by Dave wait teak education writer if i did t know better i d have thought it was the Middle of the school  the words of Butzbach elementary principal Harold Schyberg were echoed throughout Germany on Mon Day As the military s overseas school system welcomed More than 85,000 students to school year 1987-83. Principals from monchengladbach to Grafin Wocher reported Only minor problems on the first of 183 Days of classroom instruction. The school year ends june 16. But More than 4,000 department of defense dependents schools student were still awaiting their first Day of school because of construction in Darai Siadto Karlsruhe and ludwigs Burg. _ i opens Day. First and second graders at Karls Ruhe elementary will nol begin classes until sept. 9 because of plaster and floor repairs associated with a $300,000 Reno vation. All other grades at Karlsruhe elementary begin classes today. Schyberg said All 820 students at continued on Page 3 thai Airliner crashes in Bay no survivors found Bangkok Thailand up a thai Airliner with 8 people aboard nose dived into a shallow Bay monday off he Southern resort Island of Shuket after dodging another jetliner thai was attempting to land at the same Airport official said. Police in Shuket 430 Miles South of Bangkok said there were no known sur Vivon from the thai airways Boeing 737, which crashed at about 3 40 . By Nightfall rescuers had recovered Only 12 bodies. Officials said there was Little Chance of finding survivors. Air marshal Narong tide Sithens. Manager of thai airways said his com Pany s Jet swerved 10 avoid another Boe ing 737 from the Hong Kong based dragon airline. Officials said the thai plane was carrying 33 thai passengers two infants and 37 foreigners to the resort. Nine thai Crew members were aboard. Many of the foreigners were from nearby Malaysia and Singapore. An american couple also was on Board the thai Jet officials said. Ameri can embassy officials said they had been informed but did not yet know where the americans were from. The thai aim ays flight was headed to Shuket on a 40-minute flight from the nearby City of haad Yai. The Oragon air flight was coming from Hong Kong. The crash was the second thai a if ways plane lost near Shuket in april 985 a Boeing 737 crashed into a nearby Mountain killing All 11 people aboard. In 1980 a thai airways Hawker Sid Dely 74b twin engine plane crashed in northeastern Thailand killing 41. Dragon air is a two year old airline. Its flight to Shuket is one of the few routes it operates outside of China