Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1883-06-22
AN AWFUL DISASTER.
TWO HUNDRED LITTLE CHILDREN
CRUSHED TO DEATH.

CRUSHED TO DEATH.
Victoria Hall, at Sunderland. in the
county of Durham, England. will hold
nearly ten thousand persons. 1t has sew
eral galleries besides the lower row of
seats. All of these galleries are emptied
by narrow doors and when one-half of the
door is shut the width of exit is reduced
one-half. Last Saturday afternoon there
were several thousand children in this hall
to witness the performance Of Fay, the
magician, and at the close of the perform
ance many prizes we're to be distributed.
At the close the prizes to the lower tier of
children were given and they left in an
orderly manner. Then came the turn of
distribution for one OF the galleries One
half of the door at the bottom of the steps
they descended had been closed to facili-
tate ticket-taking. A telegram describes
the awful results:
At the top OF the first fight of stairs
there was door which opened only TWEEN
ty inches, and one child only was permit
ted to pass through at time. At this
point, while the mass of children were
were unable to rise, OWING to the others
crowding on. The result was that great
number were pushed down, trampled on.
and either suffocated or crushed to death.
The scene was terrible. and no effort could
stop the mad rush of the affsighted chill
dren. They came on psll neil, though
strangely without much shouting, and
soon 178 Of them were knocked down ana
killed by Others tramplng upon them. The
greater number of the bodies, which were
badly mangled from the trampliHg, laid
seven or eight deep. Many Of the victims,
and others who were not killed had their
clothing torn from their bodies in the
struggle. The ages of the 17S children
known to have been killed ranged from
to IA years.
When the news of the disaster had
spread through Ghe town, great crowds of
Of people FASTENED to the scene. until at
| least 20 900 persons surrounded the hall.
| Fhe feeling was SO intense that the au-
thorities ordered opt the Sixty Eighth in
fantfy So preserve ora1r.
THE SCENE BEHIND FHE GALLERY DOOR
was fearful. Some of the children we're
| fixed upright in heap and actually gasp
ing for breath. SO great was the pressure
i 81 The crowd behind them. The majority
81 th6 ehiid,en in the hall were under y
Years 81 age. When tie accident happen
Cd the ;anitor and bis We and geyeral
hastily sum Iacned bystanaers' went to
work immediately to give the sufferers re-
lief. They first sent out OF the building
| by other exit ways the little ones who
we're still! 10 the hail. by this means avert
| ing the fears ct q further crush. Those
| who went to the rescue OF tie unfoTtEiate
sufferers found the work Of removing the
heap of bruised, crushed and suffocated
b,dies no easy task. Two hundred chill
dren were rescued from the pile. some of
whom were tot seriously, if at all injured.
Many others were fonuq in "a EnGonsci-
Gus condition, bat of these number were
restored and Immediately taken to their
homes. Nearly all Of those who were dead
with a Number whose wounds were regard
ed as fatal, were laid out ip the main hall,
| where Toe local dctors in attendance used
! every effort to restore tbose in whom a
spark of life could be datected, One eye
| witness states that he saw lying Oh the
6agstones, a short distance from the bot
| tom of the stairs, the dead bodies Of seven
children. Many of those VIC cage TO
| assist in removing the dead and rescue the
Lying we're utterly ovsres ~ e.,hy the dis
PRESSING s,aa5cpf SO many dead and dying
/ Gu ildren.
A number of deaths have OCCURRED Stree
the first report, ard the fatal list is now
spondsa tAaIaea '2tely to the call tor help
says that many Who volunteered to assist
in rescuing the children
SICK ENED ATgHE SPECTACLE
aud fed Mortified from the distressing
scene. The re5cuers' first efforts we're
directed toward reaching children who
were apparently alive, but so tightly were
TIE victims damned together thaSst was
regarded IS aslgerous to drag them out
of the helpless mass lest the effort should
result in pulling off the limits Of living
children as well as mutilating the dead.
They therefore proceeded steadily and
systematically to lift off the topmost. A
few Of those who were beneath had sur
yived. and their meanings and low cries of
pain could be distinctly heard amid the
Excitement and cries of bereaved parents
and friends WHO were thrODgiDg the ada
cent streets. The disaster was referred to
in all the churches in Sunderland to-day
and by many of the preachers in London,
and prayers were offered for the parents
and friends Of the victims.
The staircase from the gallery was a
winding one. Both the audience and the
officials who were in the hall at the time
Va ttff5 uiSdoIcI WcIo uudWdlc iUl nonC CoA-
siderable tlale Of the terrible tragedy that
was being enacted at the door. They were
not Informed until Graham, the'hall- keep
er, who, strolling near by the scene of the
calamity. was attracted by the groans and
gave the alarm.
MR.. FAY,
who gave the entertainment. was busy
packing up his apparatus to depart, when
a rnohod n, tn nd ipfOrnn6 him
of the disaster, and Immediately fell down
speechless in ft. Some of the families
whose homes were SO suddenly darkened
lost oyer three children. One lnan and
bis wife pushed their way into the hall IN
which lay the bodies OF the victims, and
without betraying any emotion began to
scan the faces Of the dead. Recognising
the face of one of his children. the father,
pointing with his finger, exclaimed,
That's one." Passing on again, he rec
ognised another, and then third. Stag
all my family gonel" and overwhelmed
with grief sank to the floor. In some
homes there are five children dead.
QUEEN VICTORIA SENT TELEGRAM
to-day to the Mayor of Sunderland ex-
pressing her grief at the occurrence of the
disaster. Che children of various Sunday
schools also sent kilograms of sympathy.
Flags we're at half-mRsG. Gne Sunday
school loses thirty scholars by the catas-s
trophe. Many of the survivors had their
arms broken in the crush. Others are
suffering from broken ribs or rupture of
internal organs. Graham. the hall keeper.
says that children gho were not twenty
yards from the door. caiiie p.ep2ing for.
ward, unaware Of the the tragedy. thus
making matters ten times worse than they
really were. The faces of the dead chill
dren were almost in every case black and
swollen from suffocation from which MANY
died. The lips we're cracked and parched.
MANY POOR NOTIFIES swo0NED Away
at the first sight of the dead, while others
were wild and almost violent in their hys-
terical grief. The act of removing the
dead from the hall to-day was an occasion