Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-09-29
FOUR CRUSHED TO DEATH.
Terrible Panic and Rush In jew
ish Synagogue In New York.


Crowds TrampIo Each other in n Fierce
Rush Down the Narrow Stairway.-Four
Killed and u Dozen Others SerIOusiy In
iured.
New YoRK. Sept. 23-There are four
Jewish synagogues in the tenement house
No. q Ludlow street. They were all
crowded with devout Hebrews attending
the festival services OF the new year wher
some person in the place of worship raised
n cry of fire, which created panic and
caused n rush for the stairs.
The stairway, which is not very wide
became padded with people, and they piled
right on top of one another.
Some persons out on the street had
enough presence of mind to send out a fire
alarm, which brought the department to
the scene. The firemen succeeded in
cxtricatng the people from the blocked
stairway and found that there were four
dead and about dozen injured. The
names Of the killed and injured are not as
yet known.
A general alarm was sent out for am
balances, and IN the meantime the dead
and injured were laid out on the sidewalks.
Ambulances from Bellevue and Governors
Hospital were soon on the scene and
attended to the injured.
MAY BE A no DEATH-RoLL.
Four women are known to have been
killed and dozen or more other persons
So seriously injured by being trampled
upon by fear-maddened crowd that some
OF them will probably die. The dead are:
Mrs. Frcda Broker, aged 45 years, of No.
As Ludlow street; her body was identified
by her husband and son; three unknown
women.
The alarm was caused by the setting fire
to the cloth drapery over the altar in the
synagogue Of the lalmud Tonah. which is
On the second floor front of the building.
by one of the burning candles. There
was wild cry of FIRE" and the entire
assemblage jumped mp and made q mad
rush for the door. The Railways of the
building are dark and narrow, and the
stairways steep and unprotected by railing.
The building which is iive-story brick
structure, was formerly used as a tene-
ment house, As the crowd surged into
the narrow passage-way IL soon became
blocked, and Immediately women and
children were crushed together in the
widest struggle to gain the street. They
tumblcd over and trampled upon eacl
other rs they fell and slid down the pre-
Cipitous stairway. Their frantic shrleks
could be heard all over the block, aud the
alarm quickly spread to the other congre-
cations which we're also gathered in the
same building. They poured out OF the
adjoining rooms ON each floor and joined
the panic,stricken crowd, adding new
pressure to the situation. 1t was
a MAD FIGHT FOR LIFE.
Many crowded out upon the fire escapes
on the second floor and leaped into the
street There was no fire to be seen. Only
thin film Of smoke was coming from the
third story windows. The cries and yells
that came from the interior of the build
| ing were horrible TO hear.
The rush continued for several minutes
when the officers finally succeeded in max
ing some Roadway against the stream of
| humanity that was pouring out of the
| building and edged themselves within the
| building. When they reached the foot of
| the first stairway they found that large
| stout woman, who had fallen on the lowest
| step aud blocked the way of those behind.
| Roundsnan Gotten dragged her out. ShG
| was unconscious and terribly bruised and
disiigured for hundreds must have
TRAMPLED OVER HER BODY,
She was taken out and restored to con-
| seriousness in Il nelghboring drug store,
! Several of her ribs were broken.
| As soon as the building had been cleared
| II was found that no damage hal been
done to the structure by the fire, andits
| only indications were the burned thOra
| and charred top of the altar. II was fully
| - minutes before all the people escaped
from the building and il was finally
| cleared. -Four women had been dragged
out of the hallway dead or dying. They
had been
TRAMPLED TO DEATH
beneath the feet of the mob. One of them
was taken to q drug istore but she died
soon after. All four bodies were after
wards taken on stretcherS to the police
stations to identify the bodies. Nine per.
sons were So badly injured that they had
to be sent to the hospital.
DEATH TRAP.
II was learned that four synagogues occu-
pied the building, and there was also a
school in the building. The rooms occu-
pied by tho congregations were furnished
with wooden seats, close together, and the
people were packed into each room like
sardines in d box.