1930 Costești wooden church fire

1930 fire in Romania 1930 Costești wooden church fire 6 p.m. 1930 4 18 y Costești, Argeș County, Romania 44 40 11 N 24 52 48 E inline,title Black Easter Fire, stampede A lit candle 118 12 A wooden church destroyed In 1930, a devastating fire destroyed the wooden church in Costești, AD, a small town in Argeș County, Romania, and killed 118 people, mostly primary school and high school students, the youngest of them being an 8-year-old girl.https://adevarul.ro/news/eveniment/tragedia-copiilor-arsi-biserica-marturiile-ultimului-supravietuitor-1_50acf7287c42d5a6638cbeec/index.html Tragedia copiilor arși în biserică: mărturiile ultimului supraviețuitor Adevărul 25 November 2009 Romanian The event was also known in Romanian press as the Black Easter. The fire took place on 18 April 1930, during a religious service on Good Friday, when hundreds of people from the Orthodox community gathered at the wooden church in the town, built in the eighteenth century.https://ziarullumina.ro/actualitate-religioasa/pomenirea-copiilor-morti-incendiul-din-1930 Pomenirea copiilor morți în incendiul din 1930 Ziarul Lumina Bostan Cristian 28 April 2011 Romanian The church was no more than 48 square meters and so children, singers and some elders gathered in the narthex while parents listened to service from outside.https://adevarul.ro/locale/pitesti/pastele-indoliat-1930-povestea-celor-116-credinciosi-ars-vii-intr-o-biserica-arges-vinerea-mare-regina-maria-luat-parte-funeralii-1_55255b62448e03c0fd5f31d2/index.html#gallery_currentImage Paștele negru din 1930: povestea celor 116 credincioși care au ars de vii într-o biserică din Argeș, în Vinerea Mare. Regina Maria a luat parte la funeralii Adevărul Stancu Cristina 9 April 2015 Romanian The fire broke out during Lamentations, from a candle that reached a wreath braid. The fire was extinguished immediately, but without anyone even noticing, the wreaths housed in the church attic were also ignited. The church door, with an opening width of only 60 centimetres, was locked, trapping inside 130 people.http://universulargesean.ro/special/46-articole/recomandari/2293-incendiul-de-la-biserica-din-costesti-soldat-cu-144-de-morti-in-topul-celor-mai-mari-dezastre-din-lume-2 O catastrofă de neuitat: Paștele de foc de la Costești, soldat cu 144 de morți Universul Argeșean Marta Elena 7 April 2015 Romanian Within a few minutes, dozens of people died from smoke inhalation or burns. The shingle roof also collapsed, crushing to death many still trapped in the church.https://books.google.com/books?id=zviAAAAAQBAJ&q=costesti+1930+fire&pg=PA398 World Disasters: Tragedies in the Modern Age 76 Routledge Eastlake Keith Russell Henry Sharpe Mike 1 May 2001 978-1579583187 Only 14 people managed to escape, of whom two died a few days later from burns.http://www.ziare.com/cultura/documentar/tragedia-de-la-costesti-arges-care-a-zguduit-europa-anului-1930-documentar-1233619 Tragedia de la Costești, Argeș, care a zguduit Europa anului 1930 Ziare.com Pițigoi Victor 5 May 2013 Romanian After the fire, the Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, at the initiative of Patriarch Miron Cristea, launched a national public offertory, supported by newspaper Universul, headed at that time by Stelian Popescu. From all over the country, but also abroad, from Europe and the United States, tons of aid arrived to the families of those killed. At the funeral of 116 victims Queen Marie and her grandson, King Michael I were in attendance.https://www.nytimes.com/1930/04/20/archives/church-fire-dead-to-rest-together-rumanian-village-to-bury-144-in.html Church fire dead to rest together The New York Times 20 April 1930 Shortly after the tragedy, several parents of those killed committed suicide, feeling guilty for the death of children. Between 1932 and 1934, a new cathedral was built on the site. Parents rushed to the door, trying to get in, to save their children. They were pushing to enter, children were struggling to get out and failed, because of their parents, that blocked their exit. That scrimmage kept them captive, prey to the flames. They all died, 116 children, all youth of the village. Virgil Ionescu, the last survivor of Costești tragedy in an interview for Adevărul, November 2009 References 2 Category:1930 disasters in Romania Category:Fires in Romania Category:April 1930 in Europe Category:1930 fires Category:1930s fires in Europe Category:Church fires in Europe Category:Building and structure collapses in Europe Category:Building and structure collapses caused by fire Category:Collapses in churches Category:History of Argeș County Category:Scandals in Romania Category:Crowd collapses and crushes in Europe