The Iron Lung That

Wouldn't Work

Lae residents are angry. They have lason. When the fatal air crash icurred on June 8 (see opposite) two iung men were launching a new speed tat; they were on the spot just as the il of the plane disappeared, Murrell me up, head down, still strapped to s seat a few minutes afterwards, and urphy shortly after. They got them lickly to shore and took them to spital in utilities (The ambulance t there an hour late—it had a flat re).

When they arrived at the hospital th Murphy they were met on the randah by a harrassed doctor who ved them in. A native doctor-boy ected them to an ante-chamber off ! operating theatre where the iron ig stood. They were told to put irphy in the lung.

They found the lung in two pieces— s piece in another room. The men re mechanics and they quickly tried put it together. There was no power nt in the ante-room and they had to a double-adaptor to connect it to next room power point. Murphy s now in the lung and they thought was working, but could not under nd why the needle indicator was wing nothing. Then they discovered t the two pipe inlets were not con ted, and knew that the lung was less.

'he lung probably would not have ed Murphy. But what if it had been ded for a half-drowned child, or a rt case? —P.R.