TERRIFIC GAS EXPLOSION.

Colonist, Volume XXVIII, Issue 4173, 24 June 1885, Page 4

TERRIFIC GAS EXPLOSION.

The south-eastof.LondonWason-April '20 the scene of a most destructive gas explosion.. The catastrophe (says the "Loudon 'Daily Telegraph') occurred iv a newly constructed thoroughfare known as Eugene road, Oldfield street, Rotherhithe New Road. The houses have been completed only about a month or six weeks, and the road ■; .itself has not yet been opened for traffic. The Tenements were of the • usnal kind occupied by ; the artisan class—two-floored, buildings containing .six rooms each. The actual locality oi the explosion was a house ;at the end of the street, No 1? and this was tenanted, it would appear, .by about nine peoplp. It was leased by a man of the name ,of Harry Venn a labourer, who, with his wifaand four children, lived on the ground floor; A labourer named John Harris and his wife Sarah occupied the front top room and the other top room was taken by a lodger, named .William Ford, a labonrw. At about half-past 8 o'clock , at. night when thestreet was perfectly quiet, a. tremendous explosion, re- ' sertibling a very heavy cannonade, ■ alarmed everyone in the neighborhood, and immediately afterwards the place ■ presented a .scene of indescribable: confusion. The street lamps were ..extinguished, and the whole of the front of the building was blown out. '■-The interior was exposed to the view of anyone in the street, and tho ruins .of the front part of the house lay in • the road. Without any delay a light was procured, and endeavours were immediately made to ascertain if anyone had been injured. Venn, it seemed, had been laid up iv the bedroom on the ground flour of the wrecked house, and was being attended to at the very " moirient by the doctor. . His wife and two i children were iv the back room, and Mrs Harris was "upstairs. The two infants were found to be quite ?xininjured, the one little creature lyiug i asleep in its cot and the other standing .by.its side. The same, however,:could not be said by the other occupants of the house, Who were fearfully injured When the confusion had in. a measure subsided, it was seen, too, that the next door house to No. 1 had been greatly shattered, and that .the occu?p'ants .were, in too great a state of trepidation to unlock the front door and let themselves out; In a minute or two pickaxes and hammers were forthcoming, the ,door was promptly battered open,; and the people: brought out into the; street. Several police constables .had. arrived, ?and they hurriedly ascertained who were the persons seriously injured, and procuring cabs, sent them off to the hospital. An immense crowd collected. An extremely strong sineli of gas had .been noticed ever since the explosion, and suddenly—it is supposed through some one who was smoking dropped a match—an immense flame shot up from the heap on which the people were standing to the number of a score and a half. The bright light which immediately lit lip the previously dark thoroughfare caused a remarkable panic, for it was rumoured that th« main was on fire, and while the people rushed out of the street those in the houses became , terrified, and some rushed away. It was soon evident, however, that the flames were caused by the ga,s leaking through the mould, biit there was every chance of the fire spreading from this to the main, and thus of ah even greater explosion than the first. Accordingly the crowd withdrew to a greater distance, and, con- : tenting themselves with watching this mass of fire-and the ruins of the two wrecked houses, gave more room for the firemen and police to ascertain what damage had actually been caused, and how many persons had been inju red. A With respect to the latter point nobody seemed to have any precise information, but it was; ascertained snbs< queutly at Guy's Hospital that three women and two men had been admitted, and that then injuries were of a shocking nature. In at least one case—that of a woman— amputation was necesasry, and the other;cases were of a very serious . character. The damages to adjoining premises consisted chiefly in the breaking of glass by the force of the explosion^