Kashmir Princess
| Bombing summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 11 April 1955 |
| Summary | bombing |
| Site | off the Natuna Islands, Indonesia |
| Passengers | 11 |
| Crew | 8 |
| Fatalities | 16 |
| Injuries (non-fatal) | 3 |
| Survivors | 3 |
| Aircraft type | Lockheed L-749A Constellation |
| Aircraft name | Kashmir Princess |
| Operator | Air India |
| Registration | VT-DEP |
| Flight origin | Santa Cruz Airport, Bombay, India |
| Stopover | Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong |
| Destination | Kemayoran Airport, Jakarta, Indonesia |
The Kashmir Princess was a chartered Lockheed L-749A Constellation aircraft owned by Air India. On 11 April 1955, it was damaged in midair by a bomb explosion and crashed into the South China Sea while en route from Bombay, India, and Hong Kong to Jakarta, Indonesia. Sixteen of those on board were killed, while three survived. The target of the assassination was the Chinese Premier, Zhou Enlai.
The aircraft departed Hong Kong at 0425 GMT carrying Chinese and Eastern European delegates, mainly journalists, to the Asia-Afro Bandung Conference in Jakarta. At approximately 0925 GMT the crew heard an explosion; smoke quickly entered the cabin from a fire on the right wing directly behind the No. 3 (or right inboard) engine. Upon hearing the explosion and seeing the fire-warning light for the baggage compartment come on, the captain shut off the No. 3 engine and feathered its propeller, fearing the engine would catch on fire. This left three engines running. The crew sent out three distress signals giving their position over the Natuna Islands before the radio went dead.
The captain tried to land the plane on the sea, but the depressurising cabin and the failing circuits made that impossible. Additionally, smoke was seeping into the cockpit. Left with no other options, the crew issued life jackets and opened the emergency doors to ensure a quick escape as the plane plunged into the sea below.
The starboard wing struck water first, tearing the plane into three parts. The aircraft maintenance engineer (ground engineer), navigator and first officer escaped and were later found by the Indonesian Coast Guard. The remaining 16 passengers and crew members, however, drowned at sea.
Investigators believed that the explosion had been caused by a time bomb placed aboard the aircraft by a Kuomintang secret agent who was attempting to assassinate Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, who had been scheduled to board the plane to attend the conference but had changed his travel plans at the last minute.
...
Wikipedia