Remember A Day | King’s killer tries to escape, Greek kidnapper strikes for a second time, and ship vanishes in mysterious circumstances: headlines from 40 years ago
- A journey back through time to look at significant news and events reported by the South China Morning Post from this week in history
A Greek teenage girl being abducted twice by the same lovesick admirer, the convicted killer of Martin Luther King Jr trying to escape jail and the mysterious disappearance of a merchant ship made the headlines 40 years ago this week.
November 4, 1979
● Mystery surrounded the disappearance in mid-Atlantic of a huge merchant ship loaded with 190,000 tonnes of Brazilian iron ore on its way to Japan. The South African Air Force mounted a search for the Norwegian-owned 228,000-tonne Berge Vanga and its 40-member crew. The ship was reportedly insured with Lloyd’s of London for US$19 million (about HK$95 million at that time).
November 5, 1979
● A 15-year-old girl in the ancient Greek city of Paestum had been abducted by a lovesick admirer – for the second time in two years. Police said Maria Teresa Verderame was grabbed by Ferdinando Verone, 22, near her home three days before. She was taken after announcing her engagement to another man. Two years before, Verone kidnapped the girl after her parents threw him out of their house. He later voluntarily brought her back unhurt.
