CINEMA FIRE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLI, Issue 20446, 17 June 1936, Page 9

CINEMA FIRE

TWENTY LIVES LOST IN INDIA

United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright LONDON, June 15.

The Bombay correspondent of “The Times" says: “At least 20, mostly women and children, were incinerated, and many injured in a fire at the Motimahal cinema, Hyderabad. The outbreak originated in the cabin and spread with lightning rapidity to the wooden balcony reserved for the Zenana women, who rushed to the exits, where they were cut off by the flames enveloping the staircase. Some leapt to the auditorium, where many were crushed in the panic surge to the doors. The balcony collapsed, burying the occupants in the debris. The theatre, speedily becoming a furnace, was completely burnt out. Fourteen bodies recovered were recognisable only by their jewellery. Rescue work was hampered by enormous crowds, almost driven mad by the screams of dying relatives. The Nizam later visited the ruins, and criticised the inadequacy of the protection against fire. He ordered the Police Commissioner henceforth not to permit buildings to be used for cinemas unless the audience’s escape was ensured.

Woman’s Gallantry

The Madras correspondent of “The Dally Herald” says: The wife of one of the Hyderabad officials, by improvising a fire escape, saved many lives. She tore off a gaily-coloured sari, tied it to a balcony railing, enabling forty persons, Including herself, to slide down to the auditorium, whence they escaped.