17 Czechs Vanish on Yugoslav Trip, May Be Defectors
Seventeen Czechoslovakian tourists disappeared while on a skiing trip in northern Yugoslavia, Tanjug news agency said today, and Western diplomats said it is likely that the skiers, all from Prague and including four children, have fled to the West.
The news agency said the tourists vanished from their hotel soon after arriving at Celj, near Ljubljana, at the end of last week. They were members of a touring group of 24.
Czechoslovak refugees have often used Yugoslavia as a gateway to neutral Austria and the West. A spokesman for the Austrian Consulate in Ljubljana said by telephone that he knew nothing about the missing Czechs.
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