Human bones discoveredMystery of Swissair plane in Lake Constance solved after 70 years
SDA
28.1.2025 - 15:34
The human bones could belong to one of the four missing passengers.
Schiffsbergeverein Romanshorn
A human bone has been discovered in the wreckage of the Swissair DC-3 that crashed in Lake Constance in 1957. The remains could belong to one of the four passengers who are still missing, according to the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland.
Keystone-SDA
28.01.2025, 15:34
28.01.2025, 15:56
SDA
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A bone found by the Romanshorn Ship Salvage Association in the wreckage of the Swissair DC-3 aircraft that crashed in 1957 has been identified as human.
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland is investigating whether the bone can be used for identification.
The DC-3 crashed into Lake Constance during a training flight, and parts of the wreckage and remains of the victim were recovered as early as 1957.
The bone found on January 11 by the Romanshorn TG ship salvage association near the wreckage of the Swissair DC-3 aircraft that crashed into Lake Constance in 1957 is that of a human being. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland assumes that the remains are those of a passenger at the time.
At the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland wrote that it was being clarified whether the recovered bone could be used to identify one of four people who are still missing. However, no further investigations into the plane crash would be carried out "as all possible criminal offenses are already time-barred".
On June 18, 1957, a Swissair DC-3 aircraft crashed into Lake Constance. On board the training flight were a flight instructor, five trainee pilots, two engineers and a technician.
Most of the parts of the plane that crashed to the surface of the water had already been lifted from the bottom of Lake Constance in 1957 under the leadership of Martin Schaffner at a depth of around 215 meters. Schaffner had previously recovered numerous aircraft that crashed in the Second World War from Swiss lakes and became known throughout the country as "Bomber Schaffner".
In January 2025, the Romanshorn Ship Salvage Association brought the human bone to the surface. The association has already made two unsuccessful attempts to salvage the paddle steamer "Säntis", which was deliberately sunk in 1933, from a depth of 210 meters. It lies on the lake bed not far from the remaining wreckage of the DC-3.