TRAGIC FIRE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21982, 13 December 1934, Page 13

TRAGIC FIRE

HOTEL FORTY deaths feared bodies in the ruins fatal jump to river terrible scenes 3- TelfgrfiP' l —Press Association—Copyright (Received December 12. R. 45 p.m.) NEW YORK. Dec. 11 A message from Lansing, the capital o? the State of Michigan, states that U people are known to have perished in a disastrous fire which occurred at Kern's Hotel early this morning.. At the time of the outbi-eak the temperature was at zero. The extent of the death roll is not Te t known, but, authorities estimate that the fatalities will eventually reach 40. The police have accounted for 160 the 190 people who were known to have been in the hotel. Over 30 are in hospital and many are in a critical condition. At least 20 bodies are believed to be buried in the ruins, with a possibility that others, are under the ice of the Grand River, which flows past the rear of the hotel. Eleven of the known dead were either killed instantly or fatally injured when they leaped or fell from the roof. Others leaped into tho ice-covered river. Ghastly stories are told by survivors bf women racing through corridors with their hair and clothing aflame, and jumping from the roof and striking obstructions and hurtling into the river. A small group was trapped on the roof when it collapsed and the victims were precipitated into the roaring furnace. Spectators told of the screams that resounded for 20 minutes and the worse silence' that, followed after the floors collapsed. Most of those who escaped did so barefooted and in their pyjamas in zero •R-eatfier. One man. clad only in his underwear, was found dead in the lobby of a near by hotel, where he had staggered and collapsed. ' Exposure to the weather was a contributing cause in several deaths. Many were trapped in the corridors. The fire was discovered on the second floor'of the hotel at 5.30 a.m., but the origin of the outbreak is not known. The hotel, which was patronised by the commercial community, contained 200 rooms. t More than 20 of the guests in the hotel were legislators who were attending a special session of the State Legislature. * Six members of the Legislature are dead. > '