Huge Blast At Ice Show Kills 67, Injures 150

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30278, 2 November 1963, Page 11

Huge Blast At Ice Show Kills 67, Injures 150

(N-Z-P-A.-Reuler—Copyrioht) INDIANAPOLIS (Indiana), Novmber 1. A gigantic explosion ripped through seats at an ice show in Indianapolis last night, killing at least 67 people and injuring 150 others.

The blast occurred as the show’s entire company of 48 skaters was In the ice for the grand finale. None of them was reported hurt. As the building was turned into a shambles, the show band continued to play on and officials said their coolness may have helped to avert a general panic.

Bodies and masses of concrete were hurled through the air and landed on spectators further back in the stands.

Of the 150 injured who had been admitted to hospitals two hours after the explosion, 15 were in a critical condition.

Police said the blast apparently originated in a snack bar situated below the seats and could have been caused by gas. One witness said: "There

was a big boom just like dynamite.” Another said: "Bodies flew through the air like cannon balls.” Hundreds of injured were rushed to the city’s hospitals in taxis, ambulances, cars and buses and all available doctors were alerted. Dead and some injured lay bleeding on the ice. Others injured lay in corridors, unattended except bv friends. A small fire broke out. but was extinguished quickly. The exterior of the building remained intact The audience at the ice revue, was estimated at 6000. The Indianapolis Coliseum seats about twice that number.

Mr Harvey Ambrose, of Columbus. Ohio, who sells novelties with the show, said:

“There was a tremendous explosion. The whole area rose up like a fountain. I was hit by falling bricks.’’

A spectator who was sitting on the opposite side of the rink said flames shot 30 feet into the air “One whole section was ripped out. People were lying there halfway across the ice in pools of blood. There was a big boom, just like a charge of dynamite,” he said.

A spectator said that bodies “flew through the air like cannon balls” after the explosion. Another spectator

who was in the centre of the blast area said he was thrown into the air and was injured as he fell.

He stood on the ice, wiping blood from his lacerations with a handkerchief, although a policeman offered him transport to hospital. “I’ve got a little girl in there and I want to wait, even though I don't think there’s much chance,” he said. After the blast, long rows of bodies were lined up under blankets on the ice. Other rows were started outside the building in drizzling rain.

A Methodist hospital, near the scene, quickly became a first-aid post for at least 40 injure— The Marion County Coroner called for a large truck to gather the scattered personal belongings mink stoles, wallets, purses and clothing—scattered over the ice and among the debris.

Prominent citizens were believed to be among the victims of the disaster. More than 10 of the dead women were dressed in mink coats Rescue workers were hampered by small fires which broke out in the rubble and by sparking electricity cables The fires were soon put out and officials cut off the power supply ait the source. “I heard the roar and looked up and ran for the curtains,” said a skater, Joan Berggren, aged 21. "I thought th? ceiling was falling. Then I looked back and saw the debris and bodies all over the ice. It was horrible.”