European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 16, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday february 16, 1988 the stars and strikes Page 9 a Semi of till thin its beam Var a Seine Rhor Nind warm in Paris. Floods in France half most Barge traffic Paris a flooding on major French Waterways has Pray cd River traffic inundated some Homes and sub merged inc Seine Kiver expressway. About 800 Barncs on the Seine Marne Yonne and Jim arc riven arc unable to operate in the biggest Cri Sis since 1982," the Boatmen s Union said monday Barge traffic Wai prohibited on the Seine last week by inc state Bridges and roads department. The High water level is making it impossible for Many barges to pass Undi r Paris Bridges. The water level swelled by unusually High rainfall has been rising for the past two weeks washing out the expressway thai runs along the Seine in Central i Aris. The River brigade said the Seine wafer level monday morning to Recd de 16.3 feel. An Alert is Given when the water level hits 16.4 feel the level reached in 1982. Water was rising above the haunches of the zouave the statue of an infantryman at inc foot of the Alma Bridge near inc Eiffel Tower. In 1910 the Seine lapped at the zouave s Chin in inc worst flooding this Century about 100 Homes Are flooded . In the Val de Marne Region East of Paris and eight villages Are inundated in the is sonic Region authorities said. Small boat have been taking bread and mail to flooded communities. The loss to Barge owners who transport Sand Coal cars and other items would be important the Boatmen s Union said. Bomb damages Plo boat waiting to carry deportees Nicosia Cyprus a an explosion blew a hate in the ship or re turn ferryboat at Limassol monday As it was being readied to carry palestini an deportees on a Plo sponsored pro test voyage to Israel a Palestine liberation organization official said a Man claiming to speak Tor the jewish defense league said the u.5. Based group was responsible for bombing tie ship at  this is Only a warning. Next time we will bomb u with All the people on it he said in a Telephone Call to the associated press in Nicosia. The Man spoke English with an american accent. The caller would nol say where he was calling from. There were do immediate reports of injuries. When asked if the jul also was responsible Tor the killing Ofil rec Plo officers in Limassol on sunday he said no comment and quickly Hung up. The jul was founded in the Early 1960s by Meir Kahanic now a member of the israeli parliament and head of inc extremist anti Arab Kach parly. Doth Kach and the jul espouse Vio Lence in the Arab israeli conflict. There was no Way to verify the Iden Tity of the purported jul spokesman or to authenticate the claim. Cypriot Security sources insisting on anonymity said inc  men killed in a car Bambini in Limassol had been negotiating for the boat. The slain officials were identified As Mohammed Sultan Mohammed by heis also known As Abu Hassan Kas sem and Marwan Kayyali. Limassol port manager John Jirjis. Interviewed by Israel radio said the Croft the 6,151-ton sol pair one for Merly jailed Between Limassol and Haifa Israel. He 4aid it was bought on saturday but definitely not by the  he said the explosion occurred at about a Quarter to six this morning there Wilt be. An underwater Survey 10 find out exactly what happened How big a Hole there is and what re pairs May be  a Plo official who spoke in Nic Osia on condition of anonymity told the a we Are wailing for a decision by the Flo command. We have to Sec if there is an alternative ship for the voyage Plo officials in Athens. Greece confirmed thai the vessel they had planned to use on the voyage to Israel was damaged by a bomb in Cyprus. The Plo had tried to launch the voyage from Greece but it was repeal edly delayed. Before monday s explosion inc Plo had ordered the 130 palestinian deportees and hundreds of observers and reporters that had planned to make the voyage to gather at Athens Airport to Al y to Cyprus. After the blast. Plo officials slopped some reporters from boarding the plane to Cyprus where the voyage was due to Start monday night. Plo officials blamed Israel for the car bomb killings and also linked the atm pc to the Plo s efforts to find a vessel for the voyage to Israel. Israel started this open War after losing the secret War concerning the ship,1 the Plo s chief spokesman Bassam Abu Sharif said in Athens. The planned voyage carries echoes of the 1947 trip of the exodus in which jewish refugees from nazi death Camps were turned Back by British forces As they tried to emigrate to pal Estine. In Jerusalem. Israeli officials had no immediate comment on the ferryboat explosion but defense minister Yitzhak Rabin said Israel had decided within the framework of various constraints not to let the Plo ship reach israeli shores Israel army radio said. Rabin speaking before the report of the explosion said Israel would Stop the boat in the ways it sees suitable the radio said. The ship s Captain Cleanthis Vlasio Poulos a Creek from Athens old re porters at Limassol that he heard a loud bang at about 5,30  the Crew he said quickly abandoned the vessel which began taking on water. The boat was shaking and then it listed he said. The crewmen later resumed to the vessel. Cypriot authorities said the 40-year old ferryboat was the Only ship presently in Cyprus that would have been suitable for inc voyage trip to Israel. The planned Plo ship of return voyage is designed to focus condemnation of Israel s policy of deporting palestinians from inc occupied West Bank and Gaia strip seized from Jordan and Egypt in 1967. The deportees include taxi driven labourers a University professor an anglican Bishop several mayors and a number of City Council members. The voyage a supposed to end in Haifa but israeli officials have said they will refuse to let the vessel enter Ibert Waters. Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Sha Mir has condemned the voyage saying it constitute a declaration of  6 die in restaurant fire at 5-Star hotel in Zurich Zurich Switzerland a a restaurant employee at a five Bur hold poured fuel alcohol into a hot stave sunday and triggered an explosion that left six people dead in the restaurant police said. The victim1, died of asphyxiation after they were trapped on the 31 is floor of the hotel International in the Zurich suburb of of Likon police spokesman Heinrich Laclef h told reporters. Thirty people Erc in the restaurant when the fire broke out he said. La was nol immediately known whether the dead were patrons or Emp secs of the restaurant. Police said the flames were fed by the synthetic carpeting in the restaurant. Rescuers at first feared a swimming Pool located on the top floor of the 32-floor High Rise might collapse. One fireman was hospitalized with respiratory complaint. Witnesses said tire alarms at the hotel owned Fay the Swiss National airline Swissair sounded Only after a delay. An elevator reserved for the fire department Fai cd to work so equipment had to be carried up the shirt local fire official Paul Berner said. The restaurant popular for its panoramic View had no automatic sprinkler system duly manager Anton so Adlmann Laid. About Iso people escaped safely from the hotel including the employee who a apparently responsible for the fins. Police said he was in a stale of Shock and could not immediately be questioned. About 100 firemen using Gas masks mobilized for the Blaze one of Switzerland s most scr Ioui in recent years. Firefighters needed two hours to bring he Bla under control. The victims were found under the smoking rubble of the restaurant Zurich authorities launched an investigation. Officials estimated the damage at hundreds of thousands of dollars