80th anniversary of Hindenburg blast

About 600 people have attended a ceremony in New Jersey, remembering the the 35 people who died when the Hindenburg burst into flames 80 years ago.

Several hundred people have honoured the three dozen people who died when the Hindenburg burst into flames 80 years ago.

A wreath-laying ceremony was held on Saturday evening at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey, where the German airship crashed. Thirty-five of the 97 people on board died, along with one person on the ground.

Sixty-two others aboard the airship survived. But only one of them remains alive today.

The wreath ceremony was organised by the Navy Lakehurst Historical Society, which preserves airship history. The group says about 600 people attended the ceremony.

Newsreels of the disaster were played and Herb Morrison's recorded report in which he uttered the now-immortal exclamation "Oh, the humanity!"

Morrison's words were not heard live, nor were they initially linked to the film shot by newsreel crews.

A curator at New York City's Paley Center for Media says it was one of the first moments in media history that had a broadcaster reacting to something totally unexpected.


Share

1 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world