Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Photo provided by the Office de Haute Montagne de Chamonix AP Photo/Arnaud Christmann/OHM
Mailbag

Diplomatic mailbag discovered after four decades on ice

Undelivered post thought to have come from an Air India plane crash in 1966.

AS THE ALPINE glacier melted, a curious discovery emerged after decades beneath the ice: a plane wheel, a shoe – and an intact pouch of Indian diplomatic mail from 1966.

It all appears to be part of the wreckage from an Air India plane crash that hikers and a rescue worker found this week on the slopes beneath Mont Blanc.

Rescuer Arnaud Christmann said the hikers alerted the tourist office in Chamonix that they had seen something beneath a glacier that looked like a wheel. He went to investigate and found pieces of the plane and “a gift from the mountain,” a bag containing Indian and English newspapers from 1966 and other documents, labeled “diplomatic mail.”

The Indian Embassy in Paris confirmed the discovery but gave no details.

Author
Associated Foreign Press
Your Voice
Readers Comments
7
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.