Newspapers From Crashed Jet Found in Melting Glacier Ice

16th July 2020

Last modified on May 14th, 2021

Several newspapers believed to have been on board an Air India Boeing 707, which crashed above Chamonix more than 54 years ago, have been found by the manager of a nearby mountain hut.

The discovery came on the Bossons glacier in the Mont Blanc massif, which has revealed other remains since the plane crashed on 24th January 1966, killing everyone on board.

“They are drying now but they are in very good condition. You can read them,” Timothée Mottin, who found the newspapers, told French media.

“It’s not unusual. Every time we walk on the glacier with friends, we find remains of the crash.

“With experience, you know where they are.

“They are being carried along by the glacier according to their size,” he said.

About 12 newspapers have been collected.

They are dated 20^th and 21^st January 1966 and include copies of the Indian newspapers the National Herald and The Economic Times announcing the election of the country’s first female Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi.

The Bossons glacier is a short hike from the Cabane du Cerro, the hut where Timothée Mottin works.

PlanetSKI hiked to the glacier from the valley floor in Chamonix in 2018.

Summer Trip To Chamonix

Bossons Glacier from Chamonix. Image © PlanetSKI.

According to French media Mr Mottin will put the newspapers on display at the hut once they dry out completely, along with other finds.

Over the past 12 years a number of items from the crashed plane have been revealed by melting glacial ice.

In 2008, a climber found some Indian newspapers dated 23 January 1966
In August 2012 a bag of diplomatic mail, stamped ‘On Indian Government Service, Diplomatic Mail, Ministry of External Affairs’, was recovered by a mountain rescue worker and handed over to the authorities
In 2013 a mountaineer found a metal box of precious stones, including sapphires, rubies and emeralds worth between €130,000-€246,000 (£117,000-£230,000)