GHASTLY STAMPEDE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 927, 21 March 1930, Page 11

GHASTLY STAMPEDE

OVER 120 PERISH IN CHINA CINEMA FIRE MOB CHASES PROPRIETOR United I*.A.—By Telegraph Copyright Reed. 9.35 a.m. SHANGHAI, Thurs. : Additional details of the cinema fire at Kirin disclose that a fused electric ! wire ignited a flimsy makeshift struc- j ture during the performance. It is believed 120 persons perished. Sixty-five bodies were recovered and many more are still among the ruins. At the first sign of fire the large audience stampeded in terrible panic, rushing the single narrow passage which was the sole exit. Most of them were women and children, many of whom were crushed to death. A stiff breeze was blowing, and soon the building was a mass of flames. More than one hundred persons were trapped within the blazing furnace. The antiquated fire brigade )was unable to do anything. Harrowing scenes followed, thousands of Chinese shrieking and wailing as the fire completed its terrible work. The police and militia were compelled to resort to the severest tactics to prevent the relatives of the victims lynching the Chinese proprietor and operator, who eventually escaped. The recovery of the bodies is a ghastly business. i housands of Chinese are hovering on the outskirts of the fire, and o, >rs are engaged in digging the rtrns and examining the charred i oodies. It is understood that warrants have* been issued for the arrest of the proprietor and the operator.