FRIGHTFUL ACCIDENT AT DUNDEE— 20 PERSONS KILLED.

A frightful accident occurred at Dundee on Monday evening, January 16. The melancholy occurrence took place at Bell-street Hall, a large concert room situated immediately below the United Presbyterian Church (of which the Rev. Mr. Borwick is the pastor), in Bell-street, Constitution-road. The hall is well-known in Dundee in connection with certain concerts and other entertainments given in the place from time to time by Mr. Springthorpe. The hall is badly constructed, so far as regards the public safety, the chief access being very dangerous.

Entrance to the hall is gained by a broad flight of stairs leading down from Bell-street into the large area beneath the church. The top of the stairs is guarded by an iron gate, and as this opens inward it is not difficult to under- stand the danger that must arise from a great pressure without. On Monday evening a very large crowd of people assembled at the gate desirous of obtaining admission to a promenade concert, which, under the title of “Springthorp’s Exhibition,” had been announced as one of the attractions of New Year’s evening. When the advertised hour arrived the man in charge opened one half of the gate for the purpose of admitting the people to the hall. On this being done, the pressure of the crowd from without was so great that the man was overpowered, and the other half of the gate was burst open. Those in the front rank were swept through the narrow opening, and forced down the stairs with great violence. Much confusion and alarm prevailed, and efforts were made to stem the strong pressure from behind. These for the time, however, proved unavailing. The people next the gate were pushed in a mass down the stairs, and those behind pressed upon them and overthrew them. Before the pressure could be stayed a confused heap of people, several feet deep, were piled up in the small space of about six feet at the bottom of the stairs.

Nearly three-quarters of an hour elapsed before these were extricated from their position, when it was found that nine young women and ten men had beer crushed to death. In addition to the 19 persons who were thus killed, a large number were more or less very seriously injured. The scene is described as most horrible. Suffocation appears in most cases to have been the cause of death, there being few cases of broken limbs. Some of the survivors, however, were much injured in extrication. One or two were extricated only to die in their rescuers’ arms. The checktaker narrowly escaped with his life. The calamity caused immense excitement in Dundee, and great anxiety for young people thought to be in the crowd. Many touching scenes took place in the identification of the bodies, all of which have been now claimed. The deceased evidently all belonged to the humbler classes. Three-fourths were boys and girls of 12 to 18.

FURTHER PARTICULARS

For some 15 or 20 minutes the fearful seen continued, until at last some conception was formed of the real nature of the catastrophe that had occurred, and then the crowd at the top of the stair began to move back and leave space for those who were able to render assistance to the sufferers below. This, however, was not an easy matter, for the bodies of those lying on the pavement were so mixed up arms and legs of different persons being interlaced and huddled in one compact mass that, in their eagerness to render assistance, they who began to labour for the extrication of the sufferers were in danger of inflicting serious injury by dislocating the limbs of those who still lived Body after body, stark, dead, yet warm, was drawn from out the writhing mass, and conveyed into the hall, which by this time had been cleared, and there laid out in such places as were most available for for the purpose. The first body to which Dr. Smith’s attention was called was that of young man lying near the door, discoloured and quite dead ; near it were about a dozen others, all dead, and presenting the same appearance of having been suffocated. Close to the entrance to the lobby were the bodies of two young girls, aged about 14 or 16 years, lying in each other’s arms, and both dead. In the hall, where several of the injured and dead had been conveyed, a sad sight was presented. The first object that attracted notice was the body of a stout man, lying on the floor, the mouth wide open, and the features rigid, as if the poor fellow had expired in the agony of endeavouring to get free from tho living mass which lay above him. On a raised bench at the east end of the hall was the body of a boy apparently about 13 years of age, who looked as if he bad fallen asleep, and showed no marks of having met with a violent death. In a small room upstairs, occupied by the hall-keeper, the most affecting sight of all, perhaps, was presented. On the floor in front of the fire were laid out four bodies of young lads or girls, all quite dead, and much discoloured and disarranged ; and near the door was a young girl who screamed in the agonies of suffocation, while kind hands were engaged in bather her temples and rubbing various parts of her body, in order to induce circulation. In this instance the efforts made for the recovery of the patient were successful, and the poor girl was conveyed home in the course of the evening. A considerable number of those who were taken out first were sent to the Infirmary, or in cabs to their houses ; and about this time Drs. Gibson, Langlands, and Cooper arrived, and rendered every assistance in their power. Four boys, of whom hopes were at first entertained, died shortly after being conveyed to Mr. Cooper’s house, and aboy and a girl, who were taken to the ante- room in life, died subsequently. Most of the first rank of the crowd, who had been precipitated to the bottom of the steps, were dead before they were extricated, having evidently expired of suffocation, as they were not much bruised, and in few cases were their bones broken. One boy, named John Holland, was lying insensible at the top of the stair. He was put into a cab and conveyed to the Infirmary, but expired on the way. Three children were found dead, jammed against the railing three or four steps from the top of the stair. The dead numbered 20 in all, viz, 12 males and eight females. The first body identified was that of a boy named Patrick Swiney, and the sorrow of his mother, a poor Irishwoman, was distressing to behold. But her cup of grief was not yet full, for in another corner of the hall lay her husband dead. She has been left a widow with four children to support. The next to be recognised was a girl about 11 or 12 years of age, named Mary Ann Findlay. She was identified by her mother whose grief at beholding “her darling child, the apple of her eye,” as she kept continually exclaiming, seemed perfectly uncontrollable. The grief of those who identified the other bodies was of a like description.

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