HORROR IN BRAZIL: Fire kills 232 at nightclub after flare sparks blaze, hundreds more injured

The Boate Kiss nightclub had only one working exit, and the majority of victims died trampled in an attempt to flee, police say. Fire started after someone either in band or with them set off a flare as part of show.

A victim of a fire in a club is carried by others who escaped the blaze at the Boate Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil where at least 245 people were killed.


A fire in a nightclub killed at least 232 people in southern Brazil on Sunday when a band's pyrotechnics show set the building ablaze and fleeing patrons were unable to find the emergency exits in the ensuing panic, officials said.
The blaze in the southern city of Santa Maria was started when a band member or someone from its production team ignited a flare, which then set fire to the ceiling, said Luiza Sousa, a civil police official. The fire spread "in seconds," she said.

The death toll climbed to as many as 245 dead, with hundreds more injured Sunday as firefighters searched the charred remains.

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An estimated 500 people were in the Boate Kiss nightclub when the fire broke out early on Sunday, and many were unable to find the exits as dark smoke quickly filled the room. At least one exit was locked, trapping hundreds inside to die, many from asphyxiation as they inhaled smoke, police said.
"When I looked around, all I saw were dead bodies all around, lying on the floor. It was macabre," survivor Taynne Vendrusculo told GloboNews TV. "It all happened so fast. Both the panic and the fire spread rapidly, in seconds."