The Brookhaven ledger. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1881-12-15
DEATH IN A THEATRE.
Nine Hundred People Burned to
Death at vienna.

ms evening at O'Clock the the
atre, formerly the Comic Opera
House, where Sara Bernhardt re,
Gently performed, took fire. owing
to the fall of a lamp on the stage,
and the building was consumed.
The house was tolerably full. The
loss of life was very great. The
Standards dispatch from Vienna
says it is estimated the audience in
the theatre numbered 1000. Many
persons were trampled to death in
the panic which ensued. AS soon
as the fire was seen there was an
explosion of gas, and the audience
was plunged in darkness. The au-
dience at the theatre last night was
larger than usual owing to the fact
that the day was a holiday. There
were about two hundred persons on
the stage and in adjoining dressing
rooms. At the time of the outbreak
of the fire the ballot corps were
mostly only half-dressed. On OK
tinction Of the lights all rushed for
the stage door and many were
knocked down and trampled upon,
but most of them reached the street
without serious injury The gal
leries were crowded, the pit was fair
lv filled, but owing to earliness of
the hour only a few persons were in
the stalls and boxes. In the terri
BILE panic the person responsible for
the safety of the theatre neglected
to use its means for tclegraphing
the fire alarm to the stations which
they had at their disposal. The au-
dience were consequently left for
ten minutes struggling wildly in
darkness for means of exit. The
life-saving brigade then arrived with
ladders, torches, and jumping sheets.
Persons saved with the aid of the
sheets jumped from the windows by
the dozen at a time. In an hour
and a half the whole building was a
roaring furnace. The persons whose
bodies were first recovered seemed
to have died mostly from suffoca-
ton, but the other bodies present a
shocking spectacle many have
heads or feet burned off. In the
narrow passage between the second
and third galleries a mass of corpses
was discovered so closely intejock-
ed that it was hardly possible to
part them. The first man discov-
cred was got out alive, bnt all the
rest were dead. These persons had
lost their way in consequence of the
turning off of the gas which, it is
now ascertained, was done by some
irresponsible person with view to
prevent an explosion. Some men
were found with their hands grasp
ing each others Threats. Subsequent
Investigations showed that in some
cases persons finding escape hope
less had committed suicide. 1t is
stated by the survivors tina. two
women were seen to throw their
children from the galleries into the
pit at the time of the outbreak oil
the flames.
Dec. 11th.-The interment of the
victims commenced shortly after
daybreak this morning. The He
brew dead were conveyed to the
Jewish portion OF the cemetery
The scenes at the graves were pain
full to witness.
The hail of the hospital where
the bodies are laid out presents ag-
onizing scenes. The official list
gives the number of missing as
9l7. 1t is feared that as the debris
is removed, hundreds Of bodies will
be found in the blocked up passages.
The captain Of the fire brigade
states that all the inside Of the the
atre is a heap of human bones and
charrcd remains.