Niteroi Circus Fire:
The Niteroi circus fire in Brazil is said to be one of the worst of its kind. The tragedy took place on December 17th, 1961. A special performance was being made by the Gran Circus-Norte Americano which was a well-known circus group at the time. Many people were in attendance due to the normal absence of preoccupation within Niteroi. Investigation took place following the disaster in hopes to find out the reason for the start of the fire. Police later concluded the cause to have been a lit match.
News reports were published weekly after the disaster each stating a new mortality estimate. After a couple of months, a final number of deaths was declared being that of 400 lives. Families and children were said to be amongst the majority of the victims. (Knauss) Many victims that perished in the tragedy did not actually die from the fire itself but rather from being trampled. It is said that the circus had a very narrow exit which prevented an easy departure for persons at the circus. Humans were defined as being “human torches (Knauss)” as they ran about trying to exit the circus tent. Along with lives being lost, the presence of the fire marks a heavy impact on the city of Niteroi. Even to this day the city still has statues representing the impact of the tragedy.
"Interrogatorio publico dos acusados":
After the tragedy in Niteroi, Police initiated an investigation in hopes of finding who started the circus fire. In the above photo, Interrogatorio publico dos acusados, you can see police’s efforts of interrogating suspects for information. Along with suspects, police also questioned civilians that might have had information on the crime. Through testimonies from suspects, Police gathered what they thought was enough information to conclude who was the culprit. This confidence was quickly lost when police found discovered that some of the testimonies made might have been false. This detection only brought about closer interrogation tactics in order to rightly conclude whom was guilty. One testimony that stood out to the police was one in which was supported by the confessor’s mother. The confession was made by a 21 year old by the name of Marcelino Alves. Alves claims to have committed the crime because of an unpleasant confrontation with one of the doormen. The police made a conclusion that Alves was guilty for lighting the tent on fire. "My son is not a criminal. He is a crazy since little kid (Knauss).” This is what appeared on a local newspaper’s headline representing the police’s conclusion on the culprit. Alves was convicted and sentenced for his crime.
Bangalore Circus Fire:
On February 8th 1981, a tragic circus fire took place in Bangalore, India. Venus Circus Company was in charge of running the event. The fire was said to have captured the entire tent within fifteen minutes of the initial lighting of the “Big Top” (Record-Journal). Phone lines were cut due to the fire which made it harder to contact outside personnel for aid. The tragedy unfortunately claimed 68 lives and injured close to 500. Amongst the dead were 37 children, some of them being as young as three years old (Record-Journal). Lady circus helpers ran out into the crowd in attempt to save some of the children. Along with the adults that died were also teachers whom took students to the circus. Surprisingly, no animals were reported as being harmed from the event of the fire. At first many speculations led to the fire being started by an electrical shortage. Police stated they would conduct an investigation in search of the exact cause but no further evidence was recorded.
The Niteroi circus fire in Brazil is said to be one of the worst of its kind. The tragedy took place on December 17th, 1961. A special performance was being made by the Gran Circus-Norte Americano which was a well-known circus group at the time. Many people were in attendance due to the normal absence of preoccupation within Niteroi. Investigation took place following the disaster in hopes to find out the reason for the start of the fire. Police later concluded the cause to have been a lit match.
News reports were published weekly after the disaster each stating a new mortality estimate. After a couple of months, a final number of deaths was declared being that of 400 lives. Families and children were said to be amongst the majority of the victims. (Knauss) Many victims that perished in the tragedy did not actually die from the fire itself but rather from being trampled. It is said that the circus had a very narrow exit which prevented an easy departure for persons at the circus. Humans were defined as being “human torches (Knauss)” as they ran about trying to exit the circus tent. Along with lives being lost, the presence of the fire marks a heavy impact on the city of Niteroi. Even to this day the city still has statues representing the impact of the tragedy.
"Interrogatorio publico dos acusados":
After the tragedy in Niteroi, Police initiated an investigation in hopes of finding who started the circus fire. In the above photo, Interrogatorio publico dos acusados, you can see police’s efforts of interrogating suspects for information. Along with suspects, police also questioned civilians that might have had information on the crime. Through testimonies from suspects, Police gathered what they thought was enough information to conclude who was the culprit. This confidence was quickly lost when police found discovered that some of the testimonies made might have been false. This detection only brought about closer interrogation tactics in order to rightly conclude whom was guilty. One testimony that stood out to the police was one in which was supported by the confessor’s mother. The confession was made by a 21 year old by the name of Marcelino Alves. Alves claims to have committed the crime because of an unpleasant confrontation with one of the doormen. The police made a conclusion that Alves was guilty for lighting the tent on fire. "My son is not a criminal. He is a crazy since little kid (Knauss).” This is what appeared on a local newspaper’s headline representing the police’s conclusion on the culprit. Alves was convicted and sentenced for his crime.
Bangalore Circus Fire:
On February 8th 1981, a tragic circus fire took place in Bangalore, India. Venus Circus Company was in charge of running the event. The fire was said to have captured the entire tent within fifteen minutes of the initial lighting of the “Big Top” (Record-Journal). Phone lines were cut due to the fire which made it harder to contact outside personnel for aid. The tragedy unfortunately claimed 68 lives and injured close to 500. Amongst the dead were 37 children, some of them being as young as three years old (Record-Journal). Lady circus helpers ran out into the crowd in attempt to save some of the children. Along with the adults that died were also teachers whom took students to the circus. Surprisingly, no animals were reported as being harmed from the event of the fire. At first many speculations led to the fire being started by an electrical shortage. Police stated they would conduct an investigation in search of the exact cause but no further evidence was recorded.
