ONE OF DOMINION'S WORST TRAGEDIES

Chronicle (Levin), 19 November 1947, Page 5

ONE OF DOMINION'S WORST TRAGEDIES

Press Association)

EMFLOVEES AND CUSTOMERS TRAPPED IN BLAZING INFERNO r ■ ' ■-

(Per

^ CHRISTCHURCH, Xovemfler 18. In one of the greatest fire tragedies in the history of Xew Zealand, 28 persons perislied, oue died from iiijuries, an imknown number are missing and two are scriously iiijured in hospital. Tlie tragedy omirred this afternoon when, witliin an hour, a terrible fire swept throngh a one-acre block of three-storied buildings oecupied by J. Ballantyne and C>. Ltd. at t'lie eorner of Cashel and Colombo Streets, The fullness of the tragedy Avill })i'o])ably not be known for several days l)ut recovery operations were suspended at nightfall with tlic ghastly certain knowledge that otlier bodies were lying in the smouldoring slielL The bodies recovered so far were taken from the ruins inside the main entrance and in part of the Colombo Street frontage, with the greater part of the debris yet to ])e searched. The remains of bodies were visible in the ruhis hanging from rafters and lying 011 the top of a fire escape. Of a staif of 300 employed by the firm, the exact number . of casualties was not known tonight and the liorrible probability is that an imknown number of eustomers also perished. Onlv the danger of the eollapse of the Oamaru stone walls of the store, eaused the recovery work to be suspended and it will not be resumed until the sliell is made safe or demolished. The death toll iwust therefore be indefinite until a check is made 011 every person known to liave been in the building or who was possibly in the building. The death roll tonight, however, made Ballantyne 's fire the worse fire disaster except the Seacliff Mental Hospital and one of the greatest civil tragedies in Xew Zeahmd's history, the toll being exceeded only in the wreck of the Tararua in 1881 with the loss of 130 lives, the Tarawera explosion in 1886 wlien 101 died, the wi'eck of the "Wairarapa in 1804 with a loss of 135 lives, the Brunner mine explosion in 1896 eausing 67 deaths and the 1931 earthquake at Xapier when 251 died. Thousands of horror-stricken spectators saw two girls lea]) from a third floor window and crash on a ladder and yerandah. One died in Colombo Street whilo another screaming girl who jumped from a Cashel Street window on to the yerandah died later in hospital. For 10 minutes thousands were transfixed while Wr. Ivenneth Ballantyne, a director of the firm, stood at a third floor window with thames about liim. He left the window to try to save two girls and on coming back climbed out on the stone . parapet of the window below. He was clinging there when he was reseued by , firemen on a ladder, his rescue being cheered. Tlie fear that death liad stalked along with the flames, was substantiated an hour and tliree-quarters after the fierce fire liad broken out, three skeletons, apparently haying droped from the upper floors, being seen in what remained of the furnilui'e section's display window. Wli'n the smoke and flames cleared the remains of l)odies were seen at the top of the fire escape between the workroom and store proper and they eould not be reeovered tonight. ■ • 5 '■ # The magnitude of the disaster struck the fire-fighters when they entered the main entrance shortly after 6 o'clock. Bodies were lying in the smouldering ruins and upon the steel rafters two bodies were hanging for more than an hour. liremen, polieemen and voluntary workers carried from the ruins the remains of charred bodies wrapped in tarpaulins and two hearses rau a service to' the morgue. ' The general public happily were roped off 100 vards or more away and saw nothing of the terrible recovery work. Two of the female office employees who jumped from third storev windows on Colombo Street, had fortunate escapes from serious injury and the Christchurch Hos])ital tonight reported that tlieir condifion was satisfactorv. A third Avoman Avas seriously injured and died in hospitai at 5.45 p.m. She was Ifrs. 1 iolet May Cody (or Coady), address unknoAvn. The iniured Avomen Avere Mrs. Xanci Grladvs Xash, of 17 ConAvay Street, Spreydon, Miss Lois M. Kennedy, of 4 SAvanns Road, Richmond. Miss Kennedy 's fiance, Avho Avorks near Ballantyne's, rau to the building aaTiou he heard that the fire liad bi'oken out and Avas in time to lielp firemen lift Miss Kennedy from tlie yerandah on ■(> which she jumped. Mrs. Xash was a close friend of XlisB Kennedy and the tAAv decided to jumpyyhenihey found that all exits from the adnunistrafive'; offices we: e blocked by flames. • ' " .