The Sun.
London, England, 1835-12-26 00:00:00

FATAL ACCIDENTS
ON TUE SERPENTINE RIVER.-SEVEN PER-

SONS Di3OWNED.

A most melartelroly and fatal which tended
greatly to mar the pleasures of the day, and has thrown a
nu-tuber of highly respectable families into the me,rt ri`4-Thant
glistress, occurrred yesterday at the Sr.l',Zritine-river, in
Hyde-park. From inquiries we have made on the spot, we
believe the following particulars may be relied on. In con-
sequence of the unparalleled intensity of the fret taring
the previous night, numbers of persons commenced skating
on the Serpentine at an early hour resterday morning, and,
'with the exception of the customary falls, every thing went
on very pleasantly until about half-past twelve e'ela‘,k, at
which time several thousand persons were en the ice, when
loud shrieks were heard to proceed from the vicinity of the
Receiving-house belonging to the Royal Humane Society,
on the north hank of the river. Hundreds of persons, both
on the ice and on the banks, immediately hastened to the
spot, when it was discovered that a large piece of ice which
Itn.d been marked " Dangerous" had, notwithstanding the
exertions of the Society's men to prevent them, been crowd-
ed with skaters, and given way, immersing nearly the whole
of them in the water. Batson, the foreman of the Hu-
trnane Society's men, summoned his assistants, by means of
his speaking trumpet, who, with their flat-bottomed boats,
drags, and ropes, succeeded in about 20 minutes in extri-
cating 15 persons, whom they immediately carried into the
receiving-house, when Messrs. Woolley, Sawyer, Elsgood,
and other surgeons, were in attendance. Hot-baths, and
the other means for restoring animation recommended by
the Society, were with the greatest promptness resorted to ;
but we lament to say, that notwithstanding the unremitted
'exertions of the surgeons and assistants for near two hours,
their efforts were only successful with 8 out of the 15, the
vital spark having fled for ever from the remaining 7.
The names of those restored are, Vincent and Richard
Brooks, sons of Mr. Richard Brooks, stationer, 421, Ox-
ford-street ; William Hubbard, 30, Windmill-street, Tot-
tenham Court-road ; Richard Seager, 31, Church-street,
Soho ; Henry Kent, 18, Stacey-street, Seven Dials ; Sy-
monds Dummock, 21, Robert-street, Chelsea, and 2 persons
named Beardmore and Catherden. The first four were
sufficiently recovered about three o'clock to be able to walk
home, and about five o'clock, Dummock was conveyed home .
by his father in a hackney coach. The other two still re-
mained, at seven o'clock last evening, at the receiving-house,
in a fair way of recovery. About six o'clock the bodies of
. the unfortunate sufferers were removed in shells to the
workhouse of St. George's, Hanover-square, in Mount-
street, where they await a coroner's inquest. Four only of
the bodies had up to eight o'clock been owned. Their
names are, Henry Schooling, aged 24, a sawyer, residing in
Bull-Inn-court, Strand; 'William Cave, aged 27, a boot-
maker, in King-street, Golden-square ; a lad named Jerry
O'Conner ; and a fine young man, son of Major Baron
Heath, of Connaught-terrace. Several other persons were
we understand rescued by the bystanders, who were able
Immediately to proceed to their homes, and among others
who rendered themselves conspicuous in their endeavours
to rescue the persons immersed from a watery grave, we
must not omit to mention a drummer belonging to the Scotch
Fusileer Guards, whose name we were unable to ascertain,
who by his own ir,Aividual exertions saved no less than five
persons. Froln the numerous inquiries made at the receiv-
ing-house hst night, after persons whose names we forbear
to mention, strong fears are entertained that other persons
are still *under the ice.