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Engraver Unknown Artist, Ireland, 19th century , Irish

Unknown Artist, Ireland, 19th century , Irish

Title

A Fatal Omnibus Accident in Dublin, 1861

Date1861

MediumWood engraving

Dimensions

Image: 162 x 23.3 cm

Sheet: 20 x 26.1 cm

Credit LinePresented, Mrs D. Molloy, 1981

Object numberNGI.20554

DescriptionThis graphic image, published in the Illustrated London News, of an omnibus plunging into the canal at Portobello on the southside of Dublin on April 6, 1861 is accompanied by a horrifying eye-witness account:

'Six human beings, shut up in an omnibus were plunged into a dark chamber sixteen or twenty feet deep, half full of water, shrieking and struggling for help in vain. The horses were plunging furiously, striking their hoofs against the smooth, slimy stone walls, splashing the water about in their convulsive efforts for life.'