Dr. Job
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- Jan 22, 2013
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Brazil night club fire kills 232 in Santa Maria
At least 232 people have died in a fire that swept through a nightclub in a university city in southern Brazil, police and officials say.
Local media say the fire began when a band let off fireworks at the Kiss club in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul.
Many victims reportedly inhaled toxic fumes or were crushed as panicking clubbers tried to escape.
Bereaved families have gathered at the scene where the fire is out and bodies are being removed.
President Dilma Rousseff, who cut short a visit to Chile, has been visiting survivors at the city's Caridade hospital along with government ministers.
She said earlier that everything possible would be done to help the injured and the families of the victims.
"I would also like to say to the Brazilian people and to the people of Santa Maria that we stand together at this time, and that even though there's a lot of sadness, we will pull through," she said, speaking from Chile.
In a tweet, the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Tarso Genro, said it was a "sad Sunday" and that all possible action was being taken in response to the fire. He would be in the city later on Sunday, he added.
A firefighter told BBC News he had never seen such a tragedy in his life, with the victims "so young".
The priority for the authorities is now to identify the dead with many distressed relatives arriving at the scene, but in the hours ahead the focus will turn to the cause of this accident and safety procedures at the club, the BBC's Gary Duffy reports from Sao Paulo.
The death toll, which had earlier been put at 245, was revised down by fire officials. Emergency services said a further 117 people were being treated in hospital.
'Ceiling on fire' The fire broke out some time after 02:00 (04:00 GMT) when between 300 and 500 people are believed to have been in the club, where a band was playing.
BBC News - Brazil night club fire kills 232 in Santa Maria
At least 232 people have died in a fire that swept through a nightclub in a university city in southern Brazil, police and officials say.
Local media say the fire began when a band let off fireworks at the Kiss club in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul.
Many victims reportedly inhaled toxic fumes or were crushed as panicking clubbers tried to escape.
Bereaved families have gathered at the scene where the fire is out and bodies are being removed.
President Dilma Rousseff, who cut short a visit to Chile, has been visiting survivors at the city's Caridade hospital along with government ministers.
She said earlier that everything possible would be done to help the injured and the families of the victims.
"I would also like to say to the Brazilian people and to the people of Santa Maria that we stand together at this time, and that even though there's a lot of sadness, we will pull through," she said, speaking from Chile.
In a tweet, the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Tarso Genro, said it was a "sad Sunday" and that all possible action was being taken in response to the fire. He would be in the city later on Sunday, he added.
A firefighter told BBC News he had never seen such a tragedy in his life, with the victims "so young".
The priority for the authorities is now to identify the dead with many distressed relatives arriving at the scene, but in the hours ahead the focus will turn to the cause of this accident and safety procedures at the club, the BBC's Gary Duffy reports from Sao Paulo.
The death toll, which had earlier been put at 245, was revised down by fire officials. Emergency services said a further 117 people were being treated in hospital.
'Ceiling on fire' The fire broke out some time after 02:00 (04:00 GMT) when between 300 and 500 people are believed to have been in the club, where a band was playing.
BBC News - Brazil night club fire kills 232 in Santa Maria
