New-York tribune., 1875-02-26
A CHURCH CRUSHED IN.
A CONGREGATION OVERWHELMED X A
FALLING WALL.

A CONGREGATION OVERWHELMED BY
FALLING WALL.
A FEARFUL DISASTER IN ST. ANDREWS CHURCH IN
THIS CITY-THR ROOF BEATEN IN BY THE TOP
PIING-OvER OF LOFTY wALL-THE INCIDENTS
OF THE CALAMITY-FIvR PERSONS KILLED AND
TwRNTY-NINE TAKEN WOUNDED TO THE HOS
PITAL-THE STATEMENT OF MEN WHO SAW THE
ACCIDENT.
A terrible calamity, attended with de-
plOrable loss of life and occurring In clrcum-
stances of impressive solemnity, took place in
this city last evening. In the very middle
of services in church crowded to It's
utmost capacity with an attentive and In
terested congregation, part Of the roof OF
the edifice was crushed in by the falling OF
lofty wall adjoining. Several persons were
crushed to death and many were injured. In
the panic, which was excited in the large
assemblage of people, and in the fierce
struggle for safety which Immediately took
place, there were numerous accidents from
trampling and from the .heaping up OF masses
of thronging, terror-stricken men and women.
Five lives were lost by the disaster, and 20
persons were SO severely injured as to require
hospital treatment, while many more went to
their homes with less serious wounds and
hurts.
THE SUDDEN HORROR IN THE CHURCH.
THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE DISASTER IN THE
SACRED EDIFICE-THE EFFECT UPON THE con-
GREGATIoN-THE CROWD TRAMPLING AND
CRUSHING EACH OTHER IN THE PANIC.
The disaster which occurred at St. Andrews Ro-
man Catholic Church at Duane-st. and City Hall
place, last evening was one of the most appalling
that has occurred in this city for several years. 1t
caused the almost instant death of five persons and
the wounding of about fifty others, some of them
fatally. As it the of Lent, evening services
have been held during the week, and last night the
Rev. Father Carroll of st. Stephens Church. in East
Twentyeighth-st was delivering lecture appropri-
ate to the season. The church was crowded, and
there was hardly standing room in the passage ways.
1t is estimated that at least 1900 persons were in the
building. The galleries in particular were filled to
their utmost capacity.
At about 81 o'clock, while Father Carroll was
delivering his lecture, a terrible noise was heard
and Immediately the plastering of the ceiling over the
east gallery to the right of the entrance door, began
to fall on the heads of those beneath The next in
stant almost before any one had time to take warn
ing, mass of bricks came tumblng through the
ceiling carrying with it the BEAMS roofing, and
several hundred square feet of ceiling The bricks
fell through in two place and, in their tall, COM
petely crushed eight pews into splinters and ruined
eight others. large copng-stone fell into one OF
the pews and it appeared from the blood that was
bespattered on the back that it must have
struck some one probably inflicting fatal injury
The wreck that was caused by the falling materials
was such that it is a marvel that any one of the
occupants of the eight pews crushed escaped instant
death Some of the bricks and rubbish fell over the
gallery into the sanctuary and destroyed the chair
in which Father Curran, the rector OF the church,
had been sitting. and from which he had just risen
upon hearing the noise caused by the falling bricks
AS soon the persons in the east gallery, who
were snot injured. recovered from the momentary
CONSERVATION. fifty of them began to climb
over the front and hung by their hands, shriekng
for help. The remainder began rushing to the en-
trance DOORS and in the hurry and excited confusion
each sought to make good his own escape regardless
of every one else. Those in the west gallery, who
were IN no danger at all, were as much panic
stricken as the others, and rushed out by the
narrow doorway the widest alarm. The
stairways even moro narrow than the
doorway, and after descending about half dozen
stairs turned sharply to the left. Before those WHO
had started down first could reach this turn, the
mass that crowded after them threw them from
their feet and in few minutes the whole passage
way from the foot of the stairs to the main doorway
was blocked up with men and women thrown down
and lying in heaps, while struggling mass of
people were shouting from the stairway for egress.
1t unfortunately happened that only one of the
double doors of the main entrance was open, and
the crowd which jammed this, in their efforts to
escape, prevented those who had fallen from rising
again to their feet
Those who were unhurt in the east gallery, who
h. . thad a1c ma do n nah
down similar narrow stairway; but before they
could reach the bend the partition which acted in
the place of balustrade gave way, and precptated
the unfortunate people into the passageway below.
Before they could rise to their feet those who fol-
lowed fell upon them, and several were injured be-
fore they could rise. The at this moment was
one of the widest panic, and the cries and groans
which went up were heartrending
The congregation in the body Of the church also
made an attempt to get out by the doors leading to
the main entrance, aud the few who succeeded in
getting into the passage only added to the con-
fusion their vain attempts to pass the heap pros
trate human forms. Father Curran. the rector, as
soon as he saw that the people were rushing from
the galleries, and that the persons from the main
body of the church could not get out by the doors,
called police officer who was present to aid him in
clearing the main doorway, in order that the fright
ened congregation might have an opportunity to get
out of the building, as he had found il impossible to
calm them by any words that he could say.
The priest and the officer then forced their way
through the mass that had collected in the door
way leading from the center AISLE and raised several
from the floor nearest the main entrance, and
pushed others backward in order to open the re-
naming door of the double door. The stiff.
ness of the bolts caused by the late
damp weather. rendered this very difficult,
especially as the excited crowd pressed continually
on both the officer and priest After short in