Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-05-25
CRASH OF PIER
HURLS TO DEATH
BRITISH WOMEN
LONG Beach, CAL, Celebration
of Empire Day" Be-
comes Tragedy.
THIRTY-THREE KILLED
WHILE $4,000 LOOK ON
Fifty Are Seriously Injured and
Hysteria and Fright Disable
Scores of Others.
DOORS WERE NOT UNLOCKED
c+r,,o+,ra Woe nyerhYrdened and
Crowd Massed at Entrances.
Causing Weight To Be As
sembled at One Place.
THIRTY-THREE KILLED
WHILE Is, 900 LOOK ON
DOORS WERE NOT UNLOCKED

LONG BEACH Cal. May .4-Too
weak to uphold the burden of nearly
10000 human beings assembled Tor the
festivities of British Empire day. the
land end of the big double-decked mu-
nicipal pier in front of the City Audi
torium collapsed today. Hundreds OF
persons on the top deck were plunged
down on the heads of other hundreds
crowded on the second deck. The lower
deck then gave way, and all were
dropped down chute of shattered wood
work to the tide-washed sands twenty
i've feet below.
Thrty-three persons-mostly women
were killed by the shvered timbers. or
crushed to death by the falling bodies of
companions and friends Fifty more
were seriously injured. while hysteria
and fright caused the disabling of scores
of others.
A section of the auditorium, which
went down in the crash and the debris
from it was added to the wreckage that
fell on top of the injured and the dead.
The victims were subjects or former
subjects of Great Britain, resident in
southern California.
List or DEAD.
Following is a list of the dead:
Mrs. Frank Matthews.
David Black. aged seven.
Mrs. Daniel Thomas.
Mrs. August Bartz
Mrs Richard George Dowlc.
Mrs. Chasshire.
Mrs. Arthur c. Helps.
Mrs. a. X. HILL
Fannie McGee.
Harold Let's. ten years.
Mrs. ID. S. Holmes.
Martha J. Bennett.
ID. McSpears.
Mrs. ID. j. LOmas.
Mrs ID. f. Wallace.
Mrs C. ii. Lawrence.
Mrs. James Nicol.
Mrs. Jane Wyvel.
Mrs Warren Z. Let's and daughter Dor
othy.
Mrs F. C. Valentine.
Mrs. Frank Shaw.
Mrs. Emma Prigmore.
Mrs. Elizabeth Hannah Richardson.
Mrs. Pauline McGehee.
Thomas Beck.
Mrs. Lily NJ. Holmes.
Young son of II. L. Bayles.
Mrs Ada r. Ingraham.
Mrs. Anna Lengfellow.
Mrs. Williamson
Mrs ID. McPharron.
Miss Anna Stone.
All of the seriously injured are resi-
dents OF Los Angeles and vicinity.
The dead were laid in the Ma
tional Guard armOry. while the in
jured were hurried to various hos
pitals in this city and Los Angeles.
All the doctors in the city are work
ing tonight, and their efforts are re-
inforced by surgeons and nurses who
came from Los Angeles when appeals
for aid were sent to that city shortly
after noon today
The accident occurred a few minutes
before Il o'clock. The EmpNe day
parade. the principal feature of the
celebration in honor of the late Queen
Nictoria's birth anniversary, had just
ended and the participants. with thou
sands of other Visitors, were crowding
up the steps of the pier and sureing
toward the auditorium when the pier
floor sagged. An instant later the sup
ports gave way and the crack and
groan of breaking timbers mingled
with the shrieks and cries Of the vic
Tins as all went down into a mass of
broken wood and writhing human
forms the sand.
Virtually the entire landing of the
pier was wrecked and a portion of the
auditorium front fell.
Pier Overburdened.
The cause OF the accident was the
oscrburdening OF the pier This ac-
cording TO an official statement to-
night. was due to the delay in unlock
ing doors. Had the doors been un-
locked at the proper time, il was as
serted. the crowd would have got into
the auditorium instead of massing at
the doors. where the weight over
whelmed the pier supports.
Scottish bagpipers had just entered
rhe portal OF the auditorium and were
still marking time when the timbers
were sundered.
When the auditorium front fell those
near the doors tried to get out of the
pier and went down on top OF the
scores who already lay hurt or dying
on the sand.
Mayor Hatch of Long Beach, who
was 10 have been one OF the principal
speakers at the celebration, was in the
| midst OF the throng on the pier and
AT first was reported to be among the
dead or injured. lie escaped unhurt
however. and, aided by Mayor George
Alexander OF Los Angeles, who came
down at the head of that city's publ,
hospital corps and several platoons OF
police. helped direct the work of res
tue.
Crowd of $4,000 Present.
In addition TO the thousands gather
ca on the pier ana It's approaches, the
| strand WAS thronged by a crowd OF
| probably $4,000 persons. There was
| but little warning. A resoundina
| crack alarmed them. and panic spread
| from, end To end OF the beach. while
" omen began to shrek Then occurred
= desperate rush for the stairways as
the flooring gave way, and the victim.
slid into the gaping hole as into a
| huge funnel
marking the spot where the dead and
wounded Was surrounded bv Is dense
ihrong. which overwh elmed the com
yaFatiyeiy few policemen on The
CONTINUED on Tenth Pase.)