Dredful Accident In Manch...
The Times, 1824-10-16T00:00:00

. - . .~mattciesttr, Oct. Is. This town has been during the whole dAy In* itate of extreme agitation, on account of a territic acddeuit which oCcuIrd trin inorn- nt About nine o'clock, part of the uppermost floor of thefire- pr of cotton-factory in Salford, recently erected by'1Mr. Nathan Gough, gave way, owing, as is supposed, to the brealing of two of the iron Cm% by which it was supported. The bricks of vwhich the floor was composed, together with the machinery upon It, ard the fragments ofthe iron beams, falling-upon the next floor, carried down a portion ofthatalso, and so on to the nextfloof,downto thegreondsfloor otfthefactery, whicl is 8ixstorieshighb butyingin theruins lthehwo.rk.. people who happened to be standing on those partsof the floors which gave way. About 250 persons, principally children, were employed in the factory, and the scene, tor some time after the aceIdent, was dreadful beyond description. The thick cloud of dust ralsed by the fall of the arches rendered It impossible, for some time, to see the extent of the mischief, or to form any conjecture as to the number of persons who had suffered by it. Parents were running about in every direction in a state of distraction, calling for their children, and wringing their hands wben none answered theta. At first few per. sons dared to go near the scenc' of mischief from a fear leat the other parts of the floors, or the walls of the building, which were consider. ably shaken, might fall upon them. Atler a short time, however, seeing that no further fall took place, a number of men were induced to lend their assistance to extricate the unfortunate persons who were buried under the ruins. A Dam. ber were rot out alive, but all more or less injured; and about 20 dead bodies, chiefly of women and girls, were dug out of the rue- bish. Seventeen are noW lying in an outhouse adjoining the factory and two or three have bcen taken awvay by their friends. Two wo. men ase in the infirmary, one of whom it is feared will die ; but all the rest who are hurt, amounting to about 15, are expected to re. cover. With regard to the cause of this shocking occurrence, mtany reports are in circulation. Itis to be feared that considerable blamne wil attacl to some party concerned in the erection of the building; but as a coroner's inquest will be held on the bodies to-morrow or on' Friday, when the truth will no doubt be elicited, It would, at pre- sent, be prematate to say any thing further on that subject. ANOTHER ACCOUNT. 'o Aaanchester, Oct. 13. d 41Sir,Thefollwin aretheparticualarsi of a most dreAfaxll acci- dent which took place this morning, c=using the death of upwards' of 20 individuals:- ' The factory stands in Oldfield-lane, near this town, ead is a large building appropriated to the stinning of cotton. It is at pre- tent occupied by Mlr. Gough, Mr. Chadwick, and others. About 9 o'clock this morning the neighbourhood was alarmed by a dreadful crash, occasionied by the falling In of the floors of the factory,whijst the people were at work: and almost at the samle moment the air resounded with the cries of the dying and wounded. That part of the building which gave way was only built in the course of last year, and to make it fire-proof the floors, beams, &e., were all of cast-iron. It consisted of six stories, and the part which fell was the end next to the engine-house and stairs otberwise the loss of lives would have been much greater. The iargest part of the build. ing still stands entire. The persons employed in it vrere enveloped in clouds of dust, and instantly flew to the windows and forced tiemselves out, through the first, second, and third storiee; I be- lieve few of those are hurt. " The crowd rouad the bixilding has been accumulating all day, and at one time I was obliged to take refuge in a cottage, from whence, this morning, one of Its inmates had gone cheerfully to her usual work at this unfortunate factory, but now lies deed, B shock- ing spectacle. " This afternoon, at three o'clock, I went again to the factory, and found it guarded bv a troop of the Scots Gre S. On gaining admit- tance into the building, I proceeded to the lotle, where there lay the dead and mangled. remnses of 17 individuals, 13 of whom were young wemen, and the remainder children. Severalmorehavebeen ug out of the ruins, bitt have been carried home by their friends. Several are woundied. Report, as usual, is busy as to the cauise of the accident, and of the extent of the injury; but I purposely abstain from stating any thing but what I know to be correct." [Another account, to exactly the same purport as the foregoing, makes the reported total killed 21, and S1 or 14 badly wounded.3 ANOTfIER ACCOUNT. 51ancheter, Oct. 13, A most shocking event has occurred here this rmorning, which will cause much grief to many families in humble life. Am onst the immense number of cotton-factories erected this year in the town, one has been built -near Oldfield.road, in Salford, we believe by J. Bateman, Esq. It was made fire-proof. No timber was used in it. The principal supports were of cast iron. The floors consisted of iron bearns, over which were thrown arches of brick-work, which were coveredl with flags. The building is about seven stories high. It has been a short time since completed and fiUed with machinery, sad let to various tenants, one of whom is Alr. Gough, well known to many mechanics as an inventor of a steam-carriage. Sereral hundred persons were employed in the mill. About nine o'dlock this morning the iron beam which supported the floor of the fifth story suddenly broke In two, Instantly one half of the heavy floor gave way, and in a few seconds a chasm was made within the buflding frorn the fl'th story to the cellars. Every floor was broken through, and machiney,R iron, and bricks, and flags, all vwent in one congre- gated mass. 1rhe unfortunate human beings who were at worlk under the part of the building where this event occurred weremaRyof them buried in the ruins, and instantly plunged into eternity. Those in the otlier paxt of the mill appeared to have escaped without any ins. terial injury, though many in their fright jumped out of the win. dlows. 1rhe state of alarm and confusion while the event occurred was dreadful. Mothers and wives were seen running about in every direction, anxious to know the fate oftheir relatives, and tmany of them were hours before they could obtain informnation, andthen pro. hably learned they were lost for ever. On accnt oftise threaten. ing appearance ofthe outer wall,a short time elapsed before the work. men could venture to remove the ruins. They soon, however, pro. ceedetd to work with considerable confidence, and by their exerotte a number ofbodies have bee7 deg out oFtbe ntis,i. Ite s let di.l cult to obtain a precise stzte of the killed and wrounded. Seventeen dead bodies are now lying in an outhouse near the mill. Two snore have been known to be taken home by their relatives, and yet it is currently reported that two olher persons vwho were known to be in the factory were missing, making in the whole 21 k'dled. About 13 or 14 are badly wounded. Several were got out of the ruins after being there some time without material injury. The individuals killed were principally females. The borouglireeve and coustables of Salford, witha numberof po. lice-officers immediately repaired to Lhe place of this dreadful rcci. dent, but th immense concourse of people which gathered fromn aU parts rendered it impossible for the civil power to keep the ground anti prernises clear for the labourers emaployed iin removinz the ruins. A dismounied detachment of the Scots Greys was accordingly sent for from the Hulme Barracks, who rendered great aistance to the civil power. D.R>?DPUL ACCJb.DN2 h2,V MAVjeCCESrp,.