THE BURNING OF THE OPORTO THEATRE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXX, Issue 2477, 26 May 1888, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE BURNING OF THE OPORTO THEATRE.

Partioulaks of the burning of the Oporto Theatre, of which wo had intelligence by cable on 23rd March, were telegraphed to London by a correspondent of the Daily News, and from these fuller details it appears that the disaster was characterised by scenes at ouoo the most brutal and the most painful. Says the correspondent: —

"The burning of the theatre here is only second in horror to the destruction of the Paris Opera Comique. The B iquet theatre, which was destroyed on Tuesday night, is a playhouse run on French bouffo lines, and is always crowded, beeauss; it is the only place of public amusement worth speaking of, and is very well managed so far as the entertainments go. All the after horrors of the Opera Comique are repeated here. Tho electric light has been laid on to enablo tho workmen to continue their search by night as well as by day. Bodies, some of whicli are charred and black, are being taken constantly out of the rubbish. I have seen those of many sailors, to judge by their clothes. The audience in the fashionable parts of the house seem to have escaped better than iu the Opera Comique and Exeter Theatres.

"So far as can be ascertained, this disaster arose from an unprotected jet of gas being blown by a draught against the scenery. A scene shifter named Davis saw it and tried to lower the curtain, so as to shut out the flames from the auditorium, but as he was rushing forward some burning scenery foil down on the stage. The public became panic striken, and made a simultaneous and violent rush for the doors.

" There was a rough attendance of the nautical tide-waiter and dock-porter class in the second gallery, and these were pitiless in crushing down all those who were weaker than themselves. They used their fists, their shoes, their knives, to cuff and kick and slash to the front. Young girls, children, and women were literally butchered when they stood in the way of these brutes. The performance was a benefit one, and the programme very attractive, so that there was not an empty place in the house. All the actresses engaged in it wore their finest jewels for a grand procession. The clothes in the dressing-rooms were totally destroyed."

The theatre, says another correspondent, was formerly a circus, and was chiefly constructed of wood. The principal actress saved her life by jumping out of a window. AU the rest of the company escaped by the back door. They describe the scene of panic as terrible when the flames issued from the stage near the footlights. It seems that the gas went out suddenly, and that this aggravated the catastrophe in the narrow passages, where hundreds of persons vainly fought to find egress, until the people outside forced an entrance by the windows. Many of those saved had blood issuing from their noses, ears and mouths. The authorities are blamed for allowing performances in the theatre, as architects had declared it unfit for the purpose. The remains of the victims, says another telegram, were on Thursday exposed for identification at the cemetery, the number of bodies amounting to 66. Besides these there were also 53 heaps of unrecognisable human remains. The identification was accompanied by many heartrending scenes. In some cases whole families perished together. Several works of charity have been organised for the benefit of the families of the poorer victims.