Rocky Ford enterprise., 1898-01-06
THE FLOOR GAVE WAY
TWENTY-FIVE PEOPLE KILLED.
During Political Meeting Mt London.
ontarlo- - Terrible Tragedy Takes
Place.

London. ont. ian. I.-Twenty per.
sons are known to have been killed anti
many injured by The collapse of n floor
IN the city hall tonight. Tonight closed
the municipal campaign. and the hall
was crowded To hear the addresses of
the successful candidates.
At midnight the bodies OF twenty per
sons had been taken from the wrecked
building and Identified.
Those who were more seriously In
Jurcd Were taken to ncIghborIng drug
stores. whence they wcra taken to the
hospital or to their homes. after their
injuries had been attended Ia.
AT the close of The polls II crowd had
gathered ut the city hall. where II had
been the custom In years past for the
successful candidates 10 address the
electors.
The building was crowded to the very
doors. probably 1000 people being
jnmmed In Its narrow space. There
was u lull In the proceedings when the
audience called for several of the new
: ly-electcd aldermen at once. and there
was some delay In securing II speaker
to address them. Alderman Cnrothcrs
Joined the mayor in an effort TO secure
quiet. IN response 10 the numerous
ward to the platform on which the
speakers stood. As lie reached 1t there
was an ominOus cracking. and the
raised platform on which the mayor
and ncwly-elcc;cd aldermen were seat.
ed seemed 10 pitch forward to the
floor.
There was Il sageing of timbers. and
the next moment 100 people were
hurled twenty feci to the floor below
n beam running twenty feet along the
center of the hail had given away. and
The crowded mass standing above that
section of the floor was thrown In Il
heap mt the bottom. A large safe stood
In one corner Of the hall. and. with Il
huge steam coil weighing half Il ton
came crashing down Oh the heads Oi
the victims.
Following the crash there was wild
rush for the doors. At the south door
where the majority of the crowd had
entered. there was terrific panic
Those in front We're thrown down by
the oncoming rush, shrieking and fight
Ing for tho door and safety. Only one
half OF the rear door, u space of proba
bly, three feet, was open, and In th'
mad rush no one thought to open til,
door In Its entirety, and 500 peopl,
struggled through the narrow space
the strong bearing down the weaker.
Within Il moment after the floor hat
fallen there Were not more than three
persons In the hall on that portion o.
the floor which Ind fallen.
Several men lowered ropes and On
denvored to haul the wounded out o.
the pit. From under the masset
weight Of the broken beams came man,
cries for help. The windows on til,
ground floor were broken In and tn,
living and the dead We're tendcrl.
passed to the waiting ambulance.
An investigation Of the wreck nfte
the catastrophe disclosed the fact thn
whole section OF III" floor hat
dropped, the joisis having been N
neatly cut of as though the work hat
been done with saw. The buildin,
was an old one. having been erected IL
the early SOS. and of late years addi
tional stories had been placed on thu
old walls.
AT am. the deaths resulting from
the wreck Of the city hall number thir
ty, and II il said that the list V likel!
TO be even larger. many of the injured
being In n serious condition. Owing t,
the fact that many of the injured wer,
carried to their homes 1t is difficult t,
gather names.
Twenty-four known dead is the lis
at this hour.
Both of the city hospitals are ful
and many Of the injured are at thcil
avn homes