European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 2, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday August 2, 1991 the stars and stripes b Page 5 at least 7 killed As girl scout bus flips off Mountain mayor Sonny Bono comforts one of the injured girl scouts beside the wreckage of a chartered bus that careened off a Mountain Road wednesday near Palm Springs Calif. Palm Springs Calif. A. A bus full of girl scouts from around the country and Finland apparently lost Brake Power on a winding Road and tumbled Down a Boulder strewn slope killing at least seven people authorities said. Dozens More were Hurt in the Accident wednesday that reduced the bus to a mangled wreck. Doctors had to crawl through the crumpled vehicle to treat teen agers trapped inside. Helicopters took the most seriously Hurt to hospitals. A a it a the absolute worst it s the absolute Saddest thing that could happen a said mayor Sonny Bono who helped carry stretchers from wednesdays wreck. Most of the 55 people aboard the bus were girls scouts selected to take part in a two week a California dreaming a tour of Southern California. Four teen agers the Driver and an a adult and a female whose age was not immediately released were killed said Riverside county Deputy Coroner Mike Werk. Hospitals reported admitting 34 people most with head injuries and severe cuts. Ten were reported in critical condition including one in a coma. A the yellow school bus hipped As Many As 10 times said police sgt. Ron Starrs. It ended up about 25 Yards from the Road its nose smashed against a huge Boulder. The front end was splintered the Drivers seat exposed. A the ones who could walk were quietly1 consoling each other at the top of the Hill a said Quot or. Daniel Cosgrove one of the first on the scene. Cellular phones on the bus May have prevented greater loss of life because people were Able to Call for help quickly he said. It had been raining off and on throughout the Day in Palm Springs about 100 Miles Southeast of los Angeles but Starrs said the Road apparently was dry at the time of the afternoon  cracks found in nuclear sub Washington a cracks have been discovered in Hull welds in the sea Wolf nuclear powered submarine under construction at the electric boat division of general dynamics corp. In Groton conn., the Pentagon announced thursday. The tiny cracks invisible to the naked Eye were discovered by electric boat inspectors in welds holding together the huge sections of Hull now being assembled. Pentagon spokesman Pete Williams said he did not know How much the problem would Cost to fix or How Long a delay the repairs would entail. A cracks in the Hull of a submarine Are extremely serious a Williams said in a Pentagon news conference. A i done to think its a matter of going Back and redoing a few welds. Its a serious problem. They have to go Back and do it Over  Williams said the problems with the welds involve a procedure which allowed them to Cool too rapidly and the High Carbon Content of the steel used in the submarine Hull which is about 40 feet in diameter. Since the discovery of the Weld fault a new welding method has been employed that has apparently solved the cracking problem Williams said. The sea Wolf is the newest generation of nuclear powered submarines. At about $2 billion each the sea Wolf is the most expensive submarine Ever purchased by the Navy. The Weld cracks appeared in the first sea Wolf ordered by the Navy in a contract awarded in 1989. Electric boat on May 3 won the coveted contract for a second sea Wolf. But rival Newport news shipbuilding amp dry Dock co. In Newport news va., filed suit claiming it had been unfairly denied the contract. On wednesday a Federal judge in Norfolk va., ordered the Navy to rebid the contract. Williams said thursday that no decision has yet been made on whether to Appeal that ruling. 5 die in Detroit fire blamed on arson Detroit apr an apparent arson fire engulfed an apartment building in a run Down neighbourhood Early thursday killing five people including a Man who jumped to his death officials said. A 45-year-old woman was arrested on murder and arson charges in the Blaze at the four Story Poinciana apartments on Detroit a North Side police said. One of the victims was a 60-year-old Man who died of injuries suffered when he jumped from his fourth floor window police said. The bodies of three other adults and a Small child were pulled from the building later in the morning. Fire chief Harold Watkins said. Several other people were unaccounted for and at one time were feared dead but Watkins said authorities believe they have found All the bodies they Are going to find. At least five people were injured fire commissioner Melvin Jefferson said. A i got no family Here. I done to know where in a going to live a 94-year-old Adolph Williams said As he stood across the Street from the charred building where he had lived since 1975. The fire broke out around Midnight and engulfed the 50-year-old Brick building which has 50 to 60 apartments police said. The Blaze was brought under control three hours later but continued burning Well past Daybreak. Sgt. Christopher Buck said police arrested a 45-year-old woman in connection with the fire. He refused to give further information about her identity. T three women and two men from the building were taken to Detroit receiving Hospital Jefferson said. At least one person was critically injured Buck said. Quot we re still leaning towards faulty  caused the bus to Speed and that caused it to fail to make the turn a Starrs said. A team from the National transportation safety Board wait sent to investigate. The bus was chartered from Mayflower contract services inc., the California Highway patrol said. The company is based in Overland Park Kan. Mayflower executive vice president Kyle Martin declined to release any information about the 2-year-old Bush maintenance history but said the company was in compliance with government regulations. The bus was part of a caravan of two buses and two vans carrying 104 girls Ages 15 to is and 23 adults on the tour said Sharon Hewitt spokeswoman for the Pomona based Spanish trails girl scout Council the events sponsor. The girls were returning after a Tram ride on mount san Jacinto which towers Over this desert resort. The cadets from 20 states and Finland were selected from among 600 applicants she said. Four of the girls were from California and Lour were from Finland s girl guides the equivalent of the girl scouts she said. Starrs said there Are several accidents on that particular stretch of the Road every year but this was the most severe Ever in the Palm Springs Valley. The dead Driver was identified As Richard a. Gonzales 23, of Bloomington Calif. The coroners office identified the other dead As chaperone Laurel Mcdaniel 30, of Norcross a. Scouts Vicki Powell 15, of Fairburn a. Zoe Jackson 15, of Sangerville Maine Tammy Murray 15, of Detroit and Doneta Schaeffer of Davenport Iowa. It was not immediately Clear if Schaeffer was a scout or a chaperone. The name of the other victim was not released. In the stars and stripes 10years ago August 2,1981 a panamanian dictator Gen. Omar Torrijos Herrera was killed in the crash of a panamanian air Force plane during bad weather Over the Western part of Panama. 20years ago August 2,1971 a the two Apollo 15 astronauts exploring the surface of the Moon filled bag after bag with precious samples of sparkling Rock from a deep Mountainside Crater. 30years ago August 2, 1961 a rain washed out the 31 st All Star baseball game with the score knotted at 1 -1 in the ninth inning. The game went into the record books As the first All Star game to end in a tie. 40years ago August 2, 1951 a Atia press conference Secretary of state Dean Acheson said that the United nations cannot accept the communist demand of an armistice line on the 38th parallel in North Korea