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Show Neonatal Provo High hoopsters Wins 3 A state title care at -- UVRMC it m 'Pokes round up New Mexico, WAC title n k . ... ft LAjKa advertising (it's true) Page 6 i 113TH YKAH. NO PROVO. 1H! vr' www) UTAH. SUNDAY. MARCH 8. 1987 - PRICE 75 A MONTH SI. 00 North f J Lt. Cmdr. Alphonse Daems. the By RAF CASERT Associated Press Writer ZEEBRL'GGE, Belgium lAP) Divers Saturday searched icy North Sea waters for survivors after a giant British ferry with more than 500 people aboard rolled on its side. At least 49 people were killed, and a doctor said he saw more than 100 dead. Chances of finding more survivors were "very negative," Bri- superintendent of the Belgian navy's diving corps who coordinated diving operations, estimated 70 to 80 bodies had been recovered by midday, including infants and children. "That's the worst part of it," he told The Associated Press. The ship's huge car- - and cargo-loadindoors fore and aft gaped open, and its propellors jutted above the water lapping at its hull. Tugs pushed at the vessel from both sides to keep it from tilting further. The ferry reportedly capsized in about one minute rapidly after being flooded and there was speculation that one or both of Moore told a news conference to Zeebrugge from England. The cause of the disaster remained unknown. Officials on opposite sides of the Strait of Dover, which connects the North Sea with the English Channel, gave conflicting figures on the extent of the disaster, the worst in the busy waterway in modern times. Most of those aboard were said to be British tourists, many of them the cargo doors may have opened, allowing frigid seawater to rush in. The ferry with three passenger decks was surrounded by rescue vessels from which divers plunged in search of survivors and bodies. Vannest said no official passenger list was available, but said most of the passengers were Britons, and the remainder included three or four Austrians. a Swede, four Poles, 18 Dutch and a few Danes. West Germans and Italians. The ship was en route to Dover. England. 85 miles away. As many as 40 divers from Belgium. Britain and the Netherlands worked overnight and early today. "All the divers have had real heartbreak, unbelievable heartbreak." said Lt. Cmdr. Henny Peeters of the Dutch navy, of diving operations. "Some are crying, some are flabbergasted." Peeters said 95 percent of the ship had been checked by and there was little hope of f inding more survivors. (See CAPSIZE, Page 12) Zeebrugge, Olivier Vannest, governor of West Flanders province, put the total aboard at 543 people, including 80 crew. He confirmed 49 dead and said 379 survived and 115 were missing. He said an official investigation has begun. In the English port of Dover, Paul Ovington, spokesman In for Townsend ship-own- Thore-se- J A n. said 548 people had been aboard, including 85 crew. He said 49 bodies had been recovered and 405 people survived, leaving 94 people unaccounted for. The differing figures could not be immediately reconciled. Herald of Free The 7,951-toEnterprise capsized at about 7:50 d p.m. Friday, it lay on a sandy bed about 1.000 yards outside the entrance to Zeebrugge harbor, which is at the southern end of the North Sea near the Strait of Dover. n semi-submerge- l.-- i Herald Staff Writers The Utah Education Association says it will sue if school districts decide to furlough teachers for two days to cut costs but local education leaders think it won't come to that. LEA Executive Director Lowell Baum warned the State Board of Education to expect a lawsuit if days are cut from the teachers' contract. The board has authorized districts to cut the days off the school year to reduce public-educ- a tion spending by $6.2 million. To remove school days, districts must first prove that they can't cut their budgets anywhere else. Clark Cox. superintendent of Alpine School District, said the threatened lawsuit will not affect Alpine since officials do not plan to use the furlough. "We feel we will be able to come up with sufficient funds from cutting other areas without using the furlough." he said. "We do not have a final decision on what areas we will reduce yet. but we feel we can make up the shortfall." Disaster raiset By COTTEN TIMBERLAKE Associated Press Writer LONDON (AP) With little thought for their personal safety, millions of people have crossed the English Channel by ferry to go shopping for a day, visit relatives for a weekend or take a vacation. Millions more undoubtedly will make the crossing. But they are unlikely to continue considering it as routine as a bus ride after Friday "s disastrous capsizing of a triple-deckBritish ferry outside the Belgian port of Zeebrugge. Both Britain and Belgium er promised official investigations into the accident, the cause of which was as yet undetermined. The disaster, the first fatal ferry accident in two years, came as Britain and France prepare to begin work on a rail tunnel beneath the channel. That project strongly opposed by the ferry has also raised safeoperators ty concerns. 35 21-2- 4 39-4- 8 38 38 10-1- 2 y Nationally syndicated ble clouds with a slight chance of showers. Lows In the rain Highs in the mid-30- Chance of measurable mid-50- 20 percent. Obituaries Opinions Sports Television Today Travel 13-1- 8 35 25-3- 9 Utah-Region- f columnist Jack Anderson said he and his Where to find it 34-3- 5 Cox said since the required cut comes from the Legislature rather than the state Board of Education, officials can use any district funds, including special funds, to make up the loss. "That will help." He has already sent a letter to teachers telling them he doesn't plan to use the one- - to two-dafurlough, he said. Mark Gibbons. Provo Education Association president, said his group has always had a good relationship with the district. "We've signed a contract and believe the district will honor the contract ... questions ferry-safet- y Other English Channel disasters - By LISA MOTE Herald Staff Writer Clouds and rain expected Agriculture Amusements Business Classified Ads Comics Crossword National, International 'M - LONDON (APt The ferry diiajter In Belgium'! Zeebrugge harbor wai the tev-eBsignificant accident in the last five veari involving ferry boats in the English Channel. Here is the list of the others: December 1982 The European Gateway, owned by Townsend Thoresen, sinks off Harwich, England, after colliding at night with the Sealir.k ferry Speedllnk Vanguard. Six people die, and a British Investigation blames both captains for "navigational errors." The French car ferry April 1983 Armorique with 700 passengers is swept by fire while sailing from Roscoff, France, to Cork, Ireland. A French schoolmaster dies, and arson Is blamed. March 1985 High waves and gusting winds dash the hovercraft Princess Margaret against a breakwater at Dover harbor, killing four people. The ferry Norland, owned June 1985 sandbank while trying to avoid another vessel off the Netherlands. The collision smashes a hole la the Norland, but no one is Injured. The ferry Slkillaa December 1988 catches fire while sailing from Le Havre, France, to England. Three hundred people are evacuated, but no one Is hurt. Townsend Thoresen's February 1987 Nordic Ferry is involved In a collision ia thick fog at the mouth of Harwich harbir. No injuries are reported. by North Sea Ferries, hits - The worst disaster In British waters In the last 40 years was in 1953, the Princess Victoria mail ferry sank in the Irish Sea during a gale, and 183 passengers and crew drowned. Also in the Irish Sea, helicopters lifted 128 passengers and crew from Seallnk's Antrim Princess in December 1983 when gales threatened to drive the ferry onto rocks after a fire stopped its engines. the tunnel, which won't be finished before 1993. As an island nation, Britian relies heavily on its capability to The fiercely competitive ferry companies have announced larger vessels, faster service and cheaper fares in response to plans tor A Provo is going to pursue every avenue possible to cut places other than the teachers' salaries." UEA has offered legal help should a two-dafurlough be the answer in any district, he noted. Jim Bergera, Provo School District superintendent, said he is not sure what his district will do to make up the shortfall. "It's a little early. I'm not certain what the guidelines are yet," he said. Bergera will meet Monday with other superintendents to hear more about the impact of the shortfall on the school districts. y move people and goods across the sea, particularly to its European neighbors. Considering that an estimated 50 million people cross the channel annually by ferry, there have been few accidents. Six ferry incidents during the past five years claimed 11 lives. There are 114 ferries that carry a growing numer of passengers, cargo and vehicles across the channel. They make up to 250 crossings a day in the Dover Straits alone. The ferries and the quicker hovercraft and jetf oil vessels operate day and night throughout the year between 11 ports in Britain and 16 in Continental Europe. The channel at its narrowest is 21 miles between Dover and the French coast near Calais. It takes 2'i hours to take a car across that route by ferry, and about 4'z hours on the (See SAFETY, Page 12) le suit o pfns "I'm certain the guidelines will make it clear whether or not we can go with fewer days," Bergera said. "I can't believe that it we are facing financial problems we can't modify the (teachers') contracts." I'ntil he has more information on the guidelines, however, Bergera said he is not sure what cuts his district can make and whether the furlough is a possible option. Gibbons said he hated to see a furlough accepted in any district because of the precedent it would set. "If it's two days this year, is it going to be three days next year and four days the year after that?.. .The bottom line has to be the quality of education we're offering the children in this state." Kathryn Brazieal, Nebo Education Association president, said her group is gathering input to present other options to the Nebo School Board this week. She declined to detail those options and said teachers are "anxious, we're concerned. We don't want to lose pay and we do not feel that the students need to lose two days of school There is some concern that students need to (See FURLOUGH, Page 2) Anderson fold Iran trade story first unday: Central Utahns expect decreasing clouds and showers, becoming partly cloudy this afternoon. Highs in the upper 50s. Chance of measurable rain 20 percent. Tonight and Monday, considera J i. jL: Rescuers walk on the hull of the capsized British ferry Herald of Free Enterprise off the coast of Belgium Saturday. Teachers look f or furlough, Bv LISA MOTE And KAYLENE NELSE.N ,., g tish Transport Secretary John after flying 4 assistant Dale Van Atta heard rue mors of an deal in November 1985, long before it was blasted in news headlines a year later. But they sat on the story because they were told hostages would be killed if they broke the story. Anderson spoke to journalists at the Excelsior Hotel Saturday on the U.S.-lra- n controversy. Anderson said when Reagan announced a strong policy condemning terrorism, the columnists decided to name Khomeini, not Khad-af- i, as the chief international terrorist. "We had been dealing with Iran to get the hostages free. How can they free the hostages? Because they control the terrorists," he said. "We knew (administration officials) were dealing with the chief terrorist of all," Anderson said. "(The policy) seemed like disinformation to us." While President Reagan's "Ram-b- o spirit" probably would have led him to attack Khomeini in anger for terrorist activities, his advisors convinced him to deal with Iranian "moderates." Anderson said the chief figures, as far as he cm tell, in planning '.he Iranian-Contr- a affair, were William Casey, former director of the CIA, and Lt. Col. Oliver North. Reagan was convinced to. deal with Khomeini because he was told he had a choice between starting World War III (war against Iran would mean war against the Soviet Union) or dealing with Khomeini, Anderson said. After the information, along with the story of William Buckley torture-death by terrorists, were confirmed by several sources, Anderson and Van Atta wrote, more columns. Some news organizations, however, censored some of the information. For example, editor Bob Woodward of the Washington Post said his paper would stick with the story from its sources. They said Buckley was still alive. Then, when the disinformation campaign against Khadafi began, "the press swallowed the story completely," Anderson said. As the columnists were attacked from all sides, they began to wonder about their story. Finally Anderson set up an interview for Van Atta with Reagan, who, off the record, confirmed the story, he said. Jack Anderson |