Fire in the Cockpit

Astronauts Virgil I. Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee were killed tonight in a flash fire during tests of the Apollo Saturn 204 vehicle at Cape Kennedy

The fire occurred while the astronauts were in the spacecraft during the countdown of a simulated flight test

The accident occurred at 5: 31 Houston time

Or at T-10 minutes prior to the planned, simulated liftoff

The spacecraft was atop the centre launch vehicle some 218 feet above the launchpad

The hatches on the spacecraft had been closed

Emergency crews were hampered by deathly smoke in removing the hatches

And an unknown number of launch crew workers were treated for smoke in halation

At the Cape Kennedy Dispensary

The crew had entered the spacecraft at 2 o'clock this afternoon

Minor difficulties had been encountered during the countdown

The difficulty was the Environmental Control System

And the Communication System

All recorded data has been impounded pending an investigation into the accident that claimed the lives of astronauts Grissom, White and Chaffee