Page:Account of the dreadful accident and great loss of lives which occurred at Kirkcaldy, on Sunday the 15th June, 1828.pdf/4

4 downwards with a tremendous crash; those persons in the front having been thrown backwards, and those behind forwards, so that by far the greater number fell head-foremost, amongst the rafters, beams, and rubbish into that part of the church which is immediately below. At this moment the scene was indescribably terrific and appalling. A dense cloud of dust instantly arose, and for a few seconds enveloped those who were overwhelmed amidst the wreck in its suffocating volume. Shrieks, screams, groans, and exclamations of all sorts, intermingled with the voices of individuals calling aloud for help, or attempting to allay the consternation, and counsel the multitude against rushing suddenly to the doors, now rose in most heart-rending dissonance. But the dreadful panic was not to be stayed. On the contrary, the multitude, impressed with a momentary conviction that the whole range of galleries which sweep round the church would tumble down, made a simultaneous rush to the doors, tearing up and breaking down every thing, which obstructed their progress.

The fatal consequences which have ensued from this accident were not so much occasioned by the accident itself as by the terror which seized on the people when they beheld the fall of the galleries. According to the most accurate estimate, there were in the galleries that gave way upwards of 250 people, including those who were in the passages, and about an equal number underneath, there being in this