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| The number killed in the Bradford City
football ground disaster has risen to 52; more than 70 police and spectators
have also been detained in hospital. The match was being recorded by Yorkshire
TV when the fire began. When it first broke out, a few tongues of flame could be
seen under the wooden seats in the G block of the stand. Some of the spectators
walked away casually from the smoke. Then suddenly the fire spread with
terrifying speed, and within minutes the whole stand was in flames. Most of the
spectators rushed forwards onto the pits to avoid the blaze. In the panic,
several spectators were crushed, and police and other fans ran back to the
stands to help them. The rescuers’ clothes and hair could be seen bursting into
flames in the intense heat. Most of the dead were found piled up at the back of the stand, where they had run to escape from the fire. However, the gates at the back of the stand had been locked before the start of the match. This had been done to prevent people from entering without paying. Eyewitnesses spoke of fans being crushed beneath the turnstile in a desperate attempt to escape. Throughout the day, weeping relatives trailed into hospitals and police stations looking for missing members of their families. The police are faced with the problem of identifying the victims and dental records and jewelry are being collected to help with the task. The alarmingly quick spread of the fare was of serious concern to police and fire-brigade investigators last night. They believe that paper and other rubbish that had accumulated over the years beneath the wooden stands provided ready-made fuel for the fire. Police think that the blaze was started by a dropped cigarette. They also found out that fire extinguishers had been removed from the stands because they had been used in the past by fans as missiles. The tragedy is the worst in football history since 66 fans died when part of stadium collapsed in Scotland in 1971. |