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Subscribe to RSSA fire broke out early Sunday morning at a night club in Santa Maria, in southern Brazil, killing revelers — many of them students. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.
Updated at 1:23 a.m. ET: At least 233 people were killed after a band’s fireworks show sparked a rapidly moving fire in a packed nightclub in southern Brazil and fleeing patrons were unable to find their way out, local police said.
The bodies removed from the Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria were taken to the Municipal Sports Center gymnasium for identification, police said.
Major Gerson da Rosa Ferreira, who led rescue efforts at the scene for the military police, told Reuters that the victims died of asphyxiation or from being trampled.
Police Maj. Cleberson Braida Bastianello told the Associated Press by telephone that the toll had risen to 233 with the death of a hospitalized victim.
Officials earlier counted 232 bodies that had been brought to the gymnasium in Santa Maria.
In addition to the number of deaths, more than 100 people were injured, police said, and most remain hospitalized. Police officials had reported earlier in the day that 245 people were killed. The death toll could still rise, police said later, from the people who are injured.
Fire brigade colonel Guido Pedroso de Melo told O Globo newspaper that rescuers had difficulty entering the premises because of "a barrier of bodies" at the entrance to the club.
Television footage monitored by Reuters overnight showed people crying outside the club as shirtless firefighters used sledge hammers and axes to knock down an exterior wall to open up an exit.
Agencia RBS via AP
People help a man injured in a nightclub fire in Santa Maria city, Brazil, on Sunday.
Rodrigo Moura, who the newspaper Diario de Santa Maria identified as a security guard at the club, said it was at its capacity of between 1,000 and 2,000 people and patrons were pushing and shoving to escape, the AP reported. Police estimated the crowd at some 900 revelers.
Fire officials said at least one exit was locked and that club bouncers, who at first thought those fleeing were trying to skip out on bar tabs, initially blocked patrons from leaving, Reuters reported.
The club's management said in a statement it would help authorities with their investigation, Reuters reported.
One of the club's owners has surrendered to police for questioning, GloboNews TV reported.
"It was really fast. There was a lot of smoke, really dark smoke," survivor Aline Santos Silva, 29, told Globonews TV. "We were only able to get out quickly because we were in a VIP area close to the door."
President Dilma Rousseff cut short a visit to Chile and visited families of the victims at the Municipal Sports Center, where relatives were gathering to identify the bodies. She met with relatives of the injured at Hospital de Caridade de Santa Maria.
Rousseff declared a national three-day mourning period for victims of the fire.
“Sad Sunday!” Tarso Genro, the governor of Rio Grande do Sul state where the club is located, tweeted. “We are taking all of the possible and appropriate actions,” the tweet read, according to a rough translation by NBC News. “I will be in Santa Maria later this morning.”
The precise cause of the fire was still under investigation, authorities said. But Luiza Sousa, a civil police official in Santa Maria, told Reuters that the blaze started when someone with the band ignited what was described as a flare, which then set fire to the ceiling. The fire spread "in seconds," Sousa said.
The tragedy in Brazil recalled other nightclub disaster. A fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island, in 2003 killed 100 people after pyrotechnics used on stage by the rock band Great White set ablaze foam used for soundproofing on the walls. A Buenos Aires nightclub blaze in 2004 killed nearly 200 people.
Reuters noted that Brazil's safety standards and emergency response capabilities are under particular scrutiny as the country prepares to host the 2014 World Cup soccer tournament and the 2016 Summer Olympics.
The Brazilian state’s Health secretary, Ciro Simoni, told the news service that emergency medical supplies from all over the state were being sent to the scene.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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God Bless these souls. Fire show inside an old building with hundreds of people crammed inside = NEVER a good idea.
The city and the establishment should be required to pay out the sum of 245 million dollars for their abject negligence. Clearly Brazil has a way to go to join the world of up-to-date fire and safely regulations.
Tall and tan and slightly scorched, the girl from Ipanema...you know the rest
Ignorant beyond words, Bill. Dreadful. Try having some empathy.
Hey, Hairball. We get it, you're a bleeding heart who's probably already down there in Brasilia donating blood and aiding the victims of this terrible tragedy which will happen again as long as corruption prevails and common sense doesn't.
Just because Bill made a wry witticism based on a famous, popular Bossa Nova song doesn't mean Bill is a psycopath who isn't concerned at this senseless loss of life. GET OVER YOURSELF. >(
Hi Wiped&Ready
You're wrong on all counts...not in BraSil...not donating blood...didn't think Bill a psychopath (just very insensitive). So, it seems the irony of your comment is that you might benefit from getting over yourself.
Children, children - please stop the bickering.
You pig bastard. Way to make fun of innocent fire victims.
When are bands going to understand that using pyrotechnics INSIDE a club is absolutely the most stupid thing they can do? Charge the surviving members of the band with murder. Estupido!
At least half off on happy hour
Spare us your egregious lack of caring, Bill.
Agreed! Bill's comment is so juvenile. Dumb @!$%#!
most likely the roadies set off the fireworks ,the band is too busy playing the music !
It is kind of like other stuff that we want and like which have their negative side such as coal mine cave ins, oil spills, and nuclear energy with its radioactive dangers. Putting this in perspective, cool stuff sways our heads. Perhaps the cool music and culture makes us overlook the penny pinching greedy business owners ignoring and skimping on public safety. Are they thus tolerable and necessary evil' because they are supplying cool music, or are they the domestic enemy within exploiting our appreciation of the music? Perhaps they perform the same level of destruction equivalent to the al-Qaeda terrorist organization and are further widespread around the world as compared to al-Qaeda. Reminds me of Morgan Harrington who was a murder victim who disappeared from a Metalica concert; long live the memory of her. People do shed tears over all this.
Mrs. Isabel Cris - You're am brazilian living in the ''STATES'' legally?? I wonder how much you have paid for your papers or if you're one of those ''fake'' marriages living in this Country. When you stand up side-by-side taking the Mr. Wise comments, criticize your own country it's show exactly you still belong the ''3rd world'' indeed.
Your rant makes no sense.
Sounds like an assault fire or high capacity night club. Brazil should ban both of those.
So should the USA and we have no constitutional rights to night clubs.....
Quick!! Ban "Assault Pyrotechnics"!! Oh wait....that would be if it happened in the US....never mind.......
Not the first time this has happened; fireworks simply cannot be made safe indoors...a sad affair.
I think we should ban all night clubs in the USA, this is only one of many times that mass deaths have occured, not considering the spread of disease, drugs, drunk drivers which are all killers....
No, it's just the club owners overcrowd them so they can make money. You can call it greed but I blame landlords they always charge three times more for rent then the place is really worth.
Oh no just as law abiding citizens cannot be trusted to own guns, landlord, night club owners/operators nor their patrons can be trusted.... government most control every moment of our lives as every liberal will tell you... we the people are not smart or trustworthy to be trusted....
Hopefully tragedies like this will lead to change. It amazes me that nightclubs still allow pyrotechnic displays. Why don't they just give everyone a can of gas and a match?
Ban the pyrotechnics.
Regulations. This is what happens when you don't have regulations.
obama is going to read this and have his minion biden head a committee for fire control when his battle for gun control fails.
Ban fire.
Ban guys that pose as women on forums.
The USA needs to ban nighclubs.
I think we should ban all night clubs in the USA, this is only one of many times that mass deaths have occured, not considering the spread of disease, drugs, drunk drivers... which are all killers.... And ban hair dye
Just horrific. No political statements or off topic trash talk warranted.How are pyrotechnics even allowed indoors anymore- this is not new.
Oh no just as law abiding citizens cannot be trusted to own guns, landlord, night club owners/operators nor their patrons can be trusted.... government most control every moment of our lives as every liberal will tell you... we the people are not smart enough or trustworthy to be trusted....
Don't be fooled. Brazil is Third World. So, many deaths in Brazil from murders, rapes, abductions, robberies that they don't even count them anymore. It happens, so sad, so what...next. You got money...you get Justice.
If you are an American and/or blonde and female or and/or female and pretty....then don't go to Brazil and expect to come back.
Aids in Brazil is at least 30%. Rampant. You can purchase sex from the most beautiful girls, of any age, for $10.00 and up.
While eating a hamburger a full XXX live show will convene right in front of you. So, be careful what restuarants you take your family to. If you're not careful you will not have to worry about explaining the facts of life to them. Of course, counseling costs might set you back a few bucks. (God have mercy on anyone who takes their family to Brazil)
Night Clubs have a lot of security on the inside. Once you step out the door, you are going to be robbed, mugged, raped, abducted, etc.
There are good cops in Brazil that try to take care of Tourists. Most people really love Americans, but there are so many people in Brazil educated to HATE Americans and see Americans as Targets, Cash Flow, and easy victims.
Very few crimes against Americans are ever solved in Brazil.
DON'T EVER GET OFF THE MAIN ROADS AND TOWNS IN BRAZIL. ALWAYS TRAVEL WITH A GROUP ANYWHERE SOUTH OF THE BORDER.
Brought to you by the good people at the Brazilian Tourism Board*
* per-ransom required for entrance into country. May be returned if you are NOT abducted.
Waiting for obummers press conference where he will announce sweeping new legislation banning night clubs............
Waiting for the NRA press conference where they will announce the only way to stop fires is with more fire.
@ hank Please Educate Yourself
Sorry ! It removed my link, but try Google search stopping fires with fire.
The Station nightclub fire was the fourth deadliest nightclub fire in American history, killing 100 people. The fire began at 11:07 PM EST, on Thursday, February 20, 2003, atThe Station, a glam metal and rock and roll themed nightclub located at 211 Cowesett Avenue in West Warwick, Rhode Island.
The fire was caused by pyrotechnics set off by the tour manager of the evening's headlining band, Great White, which ignited flammable sound insulation foam in the walls and ceilings surrounding the stage. A fast-moving fire engulfed the club in 5½ minutes. Some 230 people were injured and another 132 escaped uninjured. Video footage of the fire shows its initial growth, billowing smoke that quickly made escape impossible, and the exit blockage that further hindered evacuation.
It was honestly one of the worse videos I have ever had to watch. You know the story and yet keeping one more person will get out. Should be required for all architects, contractors, building & fire inspectors and all night club owners & their employees
This horrific, and harkens back to the Great White tragedy here in the states. My condolences to the relatives.
Stop these bands that look for ways to make themselves known. In this case who needs fireworks, regardless of extent. Make these fools responsible for this tragedy they have caused. How can these f***ers sleep at night?
Sometimes not the bands, it promoters or the bar owners. There will be time to sort it out later. Let the relatives have their time.
If you plan on going to a Night Club in Brazil you need some prior planning and preparation. YOU need to take toilet paper, clean wipes, and Pepto Bismal to any night club in Brazil. First, find out how many murders have occured there, how many rapes and kidnappings. Find out if they have security and make sure you acknowledge the security and tip them. Make sure Taxi's will pick you up when you leave there and take you back to your hotel.
Make sure some Authority knows where you are going and when you will be back. Never go alone.
NEVER display U S Dollars in Public anywhere in Brazil. You will quickly be seperated from your money.
Wow, that IS tempting...but I think I'll go with the all inclusive tour of the Colombian coca fields. Or maybe the hiking tour of the Iran/Iraq boarder....