FRIGHTFUL ACCIDENT AT BRISTOL THEATRE.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 644, 5 March 1870, Page 3

FRIGHTFUL ACCIDENT AT BRISTOL THEATRE.

A shocking occurrence took place at the new Theatre Royal, Bristol, on Boxing Night. A great crowd had assembled at the theatre to witness the pantomime of " Robinson Crusoe," and a steep gangway leading to the pit and gallery was crowded. About seven o'clock, just before , the doors were opened, a cry of " Fire'. 1 " was raised, and immediately the doors were unbarretl there was a fearful rush towards them. One poor woman fell ■ down, and the obstruction caused. large numbers of others who were pushing m to fall on her, and ultimately nearly thirty men, women, and young people tumbled over one another in a heap, over which those behind Btill pushed in order to obtain admission. When the panic was over attention was paid to those on ,the ground, and twenty-three , persons, were taken up insensible ; four- , teen of. those undermoat were found to be , quite dead, and they were taken into the > refreshment-room and laid out. The , remainder were conveyed to the infir--3 xnary, w.here,io;ur.othei> ha,d diedj inaking

eighteen deaths in all. Of those lying dead in the refreshment-room, six were women, four men, four boys and four girls. The performance of the pantomime was continued to the end. Tne dread of further accident, it is stated, prevented the manager from stopping the performance. When the play was ovir, and hundreds inside knew the, real facts, the scenes outside the theatre and infirmary are said to be very painful., and an eye witness writes «is follows :— " Long before the doors were opened the avenue was crowded with a seething mass of holiday - folk bent upon witnessing le< pantomine. All seemed in the happiest™ moods, and good-natured jokes passed freely and were courteously received. This continued until about twenty minutes to 7, whin the gallery door was opened by Policecons ta'.)le 189. About half-a-dozen persors may be admitted by this door at one timi . The rush upon the opening was terrific. Stalwart men struggled to get forward, and women and children screamed with fear. Then a cry of ' Fire 1 was heard, and a confusion enstied which resulted in the frightful accident. It seemed, from what 1 could hear, that the first to fall was a somewhat elderly woman. Several boys followed, and then men. i The screams of the fallen were heartrending, and little did those who heard them imagine as they passed on to the scene of fun and merriment that they were, in many cases, the death throes of others who had a few minutes before participated in the conver- ! sation that beguiled the tjme of waiting. Loud shouts were heard from those in the j midst of the excitement that the crowd | should keep back as much as possible, as several persons had fallen ; but the din and clamour was too great for the bulk of the crowd to hear the warning, and many of them passed on, not even knowing apparently that anything serious had happened. I was standing about seven or eight feet from the fallen, and in safety to (For continuation of news see Fourth Page.)

myself, as well as to assist the poor helpless ones on the ground, I labored as hard as Ie( u "il to keep the crowd back, but all my efforts were unavailing. On rushed the crowd, and I was earned like a straw inya btream to the bottom of the avenue. Being agiwnst the wall on the right side, I was able to let the crowd pass on, whilst I ramaine J in the corner at the bottom. It was evident all the time that the deadly work was .going on, and when the place was oleiir it manifested itself in an alarming manner. There lay men, women, and children, torn and bloeding, and covered with dust. The sight was sickening, and many a stout man's heart failed him as he looked upon the dying aud the dead. Tho members of the police, with the assistance of othera, did all they could to alleviate the sufferings of tho injured ; but a. considerable time elapsed before tlie injured and the dead bodies could be I'eniovfcd from the scene,"