The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-03-01
CRUSHED TO DEATH.
A Large Number of Workmen
Buried
Under a Mass Of Brick, Stone
and Mortar.
GROANs AND CRIES
Are Heard from Beneath the
Mass of Ruins,
While an ExcitedCrowd Pursues
the Work Of Rescue.

New YORK, Mar. 1.-The wall of an
old six story building at Forty third
street and Tenth avenue fell this morn
ing, killing and injuring many men who
were engaged in tearing it down. So
far three dead bodies have been extri-
Gated. There are probably a score of
men still in the ruins, many of them be-
lieved to be dead. The list of dead and
injured, SO far as known, is:
Dead-Hugh Cullen, residence un-
known.
Italian-Apparently 20 years old,
known only as No. g.
Boy-About II years old.
The injured are:-Patrick Curran, 40
years old; F. Meeney, 30 years old;
Michael Greeley. "a years old; James
Mallory. "a years old; Charles Babson,
"a years old; Louis Stein, % years old;
Felix Moran, % years old.
The building which was being demol-
ished, is the old malt house of A. E. and
E Schuyler, brewers. For two years it
has not been occupied. The portion of
the building that fell is the old kiln
house and was six stories high.
For three weeks gang of men under
contractor George O'Keefe has been
tearing down the building This morn
ing the gang were at work on the old
kiln house on the 43rd street side. Dur
ing the first part of the morning por
tion of the roof had been taken off and
the naked wall in the west 43rd street
side was left standing. Suddenly there
was terrific crash. There was roar
of falling brick and timber that was
heard blocks away and great cloud of
dust went up.
In the midst of the roar were heard
the cries of the men, many of whom had
fallen to death. The three upper stories
on the Forty third street side, too, had
toppled into the interior of the building.
Tons of brick and mortar had fallen on
the work men.
/ A dozen men ran distractedly in all
directions to send in fire alarms and calls
for ambulances. In few minutes fire
| engines and ambulances were on the
l.scene. Ambu!ances were there from
every hospital in the city. Groans and
half-s stihed cries could be heard from be-
meath the mass of bricks.
The laborers who had escaped, the
! fremen and the crowd attracted by the
noise of the falling walls, ran to the ruins
like madmen and began tearing the de-
bris away with their hands and with
crowbars A leg here, an arm there and
| head in another place showed the best
points of attack. The men who were al
| work on the ruins were tnOugntlesS OF
danger at first and then cooler heads
saw that other parts of the wall might
fall and not only kill rescuers, but bury
the unfortunate workmen still deeper
In short time ten were taken out
Out of these two were already dead
Another, a man of 90 years, who was
later identified as Hugh Cullen, was un-
conscious and breathing feebly. He was
hurried into an ambulance, but died on
the way to the hospital.
1t was absolutely impossible at the
start to get any accurate descriptions oi
the wounds of the injured. Some had
broken limbs; others great jagged cuts
in the face. All were covered thicklJ
with dust.
Contractor O'Keefe and his partner
were arrested and locked up in the ives
Forty-seventh street station. No bal
would be taken when the owner of thu
fallen building. James McKelvy, calleC
to offer security.
Chief Cicquel said at noon that b.
thought there were two more bodies il
the building. This would swell the lis
of dead to five. The body of the un
known Italian was identified as that O
Angelo Ticcor OF the men injured
Malloy and Dobson will die.