SANTA MARIA, Brazil (AFP) – At least 245
people died early Sunday when a fire
tore through a nightclub packed with
university students in the southern
Brazilian city of Santa Maria, police said.
The death toll from the inferno stood
initially at 70 but rapidly increased as
firefighters searched the charred
remains of the “Kiss†club, believed to
have been packed with 300-400
revelers at the time of the blaze.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff cut
short a visit to Chile, where she was
attending a European and Latin
American summit, to head to Santa Maria
and oversee the response to the
tragedy, a Brazilian official said.
It was not immediately clear what
caused the blaze, but media reports said
the fire broke out after 2:00 am (0400
GMT) when the nightclub was hosting a
university party featuring a rock band
using pyrotechnics.
Santa Maria fire chief Guido de Melo said
the fire caused widespread panic, and
that many revelers were trampled or
died from smoke inhalation.
“The main cause of death was
asphyxiation,†de Melo was quoted as
saying by Estadao newspaper.
Major Cleberson Bastianello, a military
police commander in Santa Maria,
confirmed that 245 people had been
killed and told AFP another 48 had been
taken to the hospital, an indication that
the toll could climb further.
Pictures published by local media
showed firefighters dousing the
blackened shell of a red brick building
with water to put out the flames.
“We have just gotten the fire under
control,†Colonel Silvia Fuchs of the local
fire department was quoted by the G1
website as saying. “Now we are
removing the bodies.â€
The bodies were taken to a sports
stadium that was blocked off by police
to keep grieving family members from
streaming in. O Globo said a first truck
carried 67 corpses followed by another
with around 70.
Family members were gathering outside
in the hope of getting news of their
loved ones. The town is home to the
Federal University of Santa Maria.
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people died early Sunday when a fire
tore through a nightclub packed with
university students in the southern
Brazilian city of Santa Maria, police said.
The death toll from the inferno stood
initially at 70 but rapidly increased as
firefighters searched the charred
remains of the “Kiss†club, believed to
have been packed with 300-400
revelers at the time of the blaze.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff cut
short a visit to Chile, where she was
attending a European and Latin
American summit, to head to Santa Maria
and oversee the response to the
tragedy, a Brazilian official said.
It was not immediately clear what
caused the blaze, but media reports said
the fire broke out after 2:00 am (0400
GMT) when the nightclub was hosting a
university party featuring a rock band
using pyrotechnics.
Santa Maria fire chief Guido de Melo said
the fire caused widespread panic, and
that many revelers were trampled or
died from smoke inhalation.
“The main cause of death was
asphyxiation,†de Melo was quoted as
saying by Estadao newspaper.
Major Cleberson Bastianello, a military
police commander in Santa Maria,
confirmed that 245 people had been
killed and told AFP another 48 had been
taken to the hospital, an indication that
the toll could climb further.
Pictures published by local media
showed firefighters dousing the
blackened shell of a red brick building
with water to put out the flames.
“We have just gotten the fire under
control,†Colonel Silvia Fuchs of the local
fire department was quoted by the G1
website as saying. “Now we are
removing the bodies.â€
The bodies were taken to a sports
stadium that was blocked off by police
to keep grieving family members from
streaming in. O Globo said a first truck
carried 67 corpses followed by another
with around 70.
Family members were gathering outside
in the hope of getting news of their
loved ones. The town is home to the
Federal University of Santa Maria.
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