[UPDATED] Brazil Nightclub Fire: Death Toll Hits 237, Memorials For Victim
The death toll from the fire at a nightclub in Santa Maria, a city in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state, has been revised upward to 237, with 101 other people injured, who remain hospitalized. The vast majority of the victims, most of them university students, died from asphyxiation. Others were crushed in the stampede. 4 people have been arrested in connection with the fire so far.
By Sadho Ram — 28 Jan 2013, 07:15 AM — Updated about 11 years ago
Death Toll Hit 237, Memorials, Vigil Held For Victims
A man prays in front of a makeshift memorial outside the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. A fast-moving fire roared through the crowded, windowless nightclub early Sunday, where there was no alarm, no working fire extinguisher, no sprinkler and almost no escape from the nightclub that became a death trap for more than 200 Brazilian college students. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
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A girl cries in front of a makeshift memorial outside the Kiss nightclub where a fire killed over 230 people in Santa Maria, Brazil, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. The repercussions of a tragic nightclub fire in southern Brazil widened Tuesday as mayors around the country cracked down on such venues in their own cities and investigators searched two other nightspots owned by a partner in the club that caught ablaze. Most of the dead were college students 18 to 21 years old, but they also included some minors. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
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A woman shouts slogans against the city mayor during a protest near the Kiss nightclub where over 230 people died in a fire in Santa Maria, Brazil, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. Santa Maria is a college town of 260,000 people that's been stunned by the early Sunday morning tragedy. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
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Posters, flowers, balloons and flags make up part of a makeshift memorial outside the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil, Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013. A fast-moving fire roared through the crowded, windowless nightclub in this southern Brazilian city early Sunday, killing more than 230 people. Most of the dead were college students 18 to 21 years old, but they also included some minors. Almost all died from smoke inhalation rather than burns. The blaze was the deadliest in Brazil since at least 1961, when a fire that swept through a circus killed 503 people in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
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Girls cry in front of a makeshift memorial outside the Kiss nightclub where a fire killed over 230 people in Santa Maria, Brazil, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. The repercussions of a tragic nightclub fire in southern Brazil widened Tuesday as mayors around the country cracked down on such venues in their own cities and investigators searched two other nightspots owned by a partner in the club that caught ablaze. Most of the dead were college students 18 to 21 years old, but they also included some minors. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Image via amazonaws.comThousands of friends and relatives of the victims killed in a nightclub fire a week ago held a mass in the Santa Maria, Brazil Santa Maria on Saturday night.
A man cries during a protest near the Kiss nightclub where a fire killed over 230 people in Santa Maria, Brazil, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. The blaze began at around 2:30 am local time on Sunday, during a performance by Gurizada Fandangueira, a country music band that had made the use of pyrotechnics a trademark of their shows.
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A makeshift memorial that include pictures of the victims of the Kiss nightclub fatal fire is seen inside the gymnasium where a collective funeral was held a day earlier, in Santa Maria, Brazil, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. A fast-moving fire roared through the crowded, windowless nightclub, early Sunday, killing more than 230 people. The first funeral services were held Monday for the victims. Most of the dead were college students 18 to 21 years old, but they also included some minors. Almost all died from smoke inhalation. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) (The Associated Press)
Image via foxnews.comState health officials say a 22-year-old man injured in last week's deadly nightclub fire in southern Brazil has died.
foxnews.comNightclub owner tried to commit suicide
The suicide attempt happened while he was interned and under police guard at a hospital, where he is being treated for smoke inhalation.
cnn.comThe nightclub owner "regretted having ever been born" because of his grief over the fire, but still blamed Sunday's tragedy on "a succession of errors made by the whole country."
yahoo.comAn owner of the Brazilian nightclub where 235 people perished in a weekend fire tried to commit suicide.
"It was clear he wanted to hang himself," police told AFP, adding that a police officer arrived at the scene -- a hospital where Sphor is being treated for gas poisoning -- before anything happened.
Victims Buried, Santa María Continous To Mourn
The pain in the Brazilian city of Santa María has not stopped after it was shocked by a fire in nightclub Kiss that killed 231 people and wounded around a hundred. The sadness continues as the relatives of the victims stayed up all night trying to recognize their family members to bury them.
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A big part of the 261.000 inhabitants of Santa María, in the South of Brazil, went to the center to show their support to the victims' families.
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At the Santa Rita cementery, outside of Santa María, 5 victims were mourned all night by several family members, in a similar scene to the City Center. Many people stayed after the visit of Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff.
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A collective wake for 24 corpses was held Monday morning at the sporting center where several bodies were transported cadáveres. This is second worst fire in the history of Brazil, after the one occured in a circus in 1961 in Rio de Janeiro in which 503 people died.
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Cladimir Callegari, father of Mariana Callegari, one of the victims of a fire at the Kiss nightclub, cries during her funeral in the southern city of Santa Maria, Brazil, on Jan. 28, 2013.
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Police estimate 35,000 join procession to commemorate 231 victims of Kiss club fire and demand justice against perpetrators
guardian.co.uk
4 Arrested So Far
In custody: A man identified as Mauro Hoffmann, co-owner of the Kiss club, is escorted by authorities after he voluntarily surrendered at a Santa Maria police station Monday.
Image via imgur.comNo charges were filed against the 4 men.
Those in custody for up to 5 days were nightclub co-owner Elissandro Sphor and 2 members of the Gurizada Fandangueira band.
nst.com.my
The use of a flare inside the club was a clear breach of security regulations, fire officials said.
thestar.com.my
Brazilian police arrest three people in connection with a fire at a nightclub that killed 231 people in the southern city of Santa Maria on Sunday.
The owner of the popular Kiss nightclub, a member of the band Gurizada Fandangueira and the club's security chief have been arrested and are being questioned by police
go.comRelatives of the people who died demanded answers as to how the fire could have killed so many people, while police questioned the club's owner and members of the band.
in.comSecurity Guards 'Stopped People From Leaving'
About 2,000 people were inside the club when the fire broke out -- double the maximum capacity of 1,000, said Guido de Melo, a state fire official. Investigators have received preliminary information that security guards stopped people from exiting the club, he told Globo TV. "People who were inside the facility informed us ... that security guards blocked the exit to prevent people there from leaving, and that's when the crowd starting panicking, and the tragedy grew worse," he said. The fire started "from out of nowhere" on a stage at the club and quickly spread to the ceiling, witness Jairo Vieira told Band News. "People started running," survivor Luana Santos Silva told Globo TV. "I fell on the floor." There was a pyrotechnics show going on inside the club when the fire started. Authorities stopped short of blaming it for the blaze, saying the cause was still under investigation. Video from the scene showed firefighters shooting streams of water at the club and shirtless men trying to break down a wall with axes.
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Witnesses said bouncers initially blocked the only functioning exit because they believed fleeing customers were trying to skip out on their bar tabs.
thestar.com.my
“We were only able to get out quickly because we were in a VIP area close to the door," said a survivor.
nst.com.my
Shirtless young men who had attended a university party joined firefighters using axes and sledgehammers to pound at windows and hot-pink exterior walls to free those trapped inside.
nst.com.my
Security guards reportedly tried to stop people leaving from the Brazilian nightclub where a fire ripped through the building, killing more 233 people.
Fireworks Set Nightclub KISS Ablaze, Death Toll Raised To 234
A fire in a nightclub killed at least 232 people in Brazil on Sunday when a band's pyrotechnics show set the building ablaze and fleeing partygoers stampeded toward blocked..
hindustantimes.comThe inferno started during the fireworks show when a band was playing in the club packed with 2,000 teenagers on Saturday night.
Bodies were still being removed from the Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria, Major Gerson da Rosa Ferreira, who was leading rescue efforts at the scene for the military police
livemint.com
The incident prompted President Dilma Rousseff to cut short her participation in a summit of Latin American and European leaders in Santiago so she could return to Brazil.
Out of respect for the dead, Brazil postponed a ceremony due on Monday in the capital, Brasilia, to mark 500 days to the 2014 football World Cup.
Photos Of Chaos, Mourning And People Helping Injured
Locals help evacuate injured people after a fire at Boate Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria,, Brazil, Jan. 27, 2013.
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A policeman and rescue workers help a man at the scene of a fire at Boate Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria, Brazil, Jan. 27, 2013.
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Firefighters work the scene of a deadly fire at a nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil, Jan. 27, 2012
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Firefighters try to extinguish a fire at Boate Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria, Jan. 27, 2013.
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A man runs with a body after a fire broke out at Boate Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil, Jan. 27, 2013.
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A crowd stands outside the Boate Kiss nightclub during a fire inside the club in Santa Maria, Brazil,, Jan. 27, 2013.
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Relatives of the Boate Kiss nightclub victims cry near the scene in the southern city of Santa Maria, Brazil, Jan. 27, 2013.
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Relatives of victims embrace next to an ambulance after a fire at Boate Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil, Jan. 27, 2013.
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Residents wait to identify their relatives as the bodies of the victims are transfered from the site of a fire at Boate Kiss nightclub to a municipal sports center in Santa Maria, Brazil, Jan. 27, 2013.
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Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff, right, consoles relatives of victims of a fire which occurred at the Boate Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria, Brazil, Jan. 27, 2013.
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Funeral home workers carry a coffin containing the body of a victim from the fire at Boate Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria, Brazil, Jan. 27, 2013.
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Rescue workers investigate Kiss nightclub after a deadly fire broke out in Santa Maria, Brazil, Jan. 27, 2013.
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An exterior view of Boate Kiss nightclub is seen after a deadly fire occurred in Santa Maria, Brazil, Jan. 27, 2013.
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The relative of a victim of the the Boate Kiss nightclub fire mourns over a coffin in Santa Maria, Brazil, Jan. 27, 2013.
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Relatives cry next to a coffin at a gymnasium where bodies of victims from the Boate Kiss nightclub fire were brought for identification in Santa Maria, Brazil, Jan. 27, 2013.
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Relatives of victims from a fire that broke out at Kiss nightclub weep during their funeral in Santa Maria, Brazil, Jan. 27, 2013.
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A coffin decorated with a photograph and image of the Virgin Mary is surrounded by mourners.
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People console each other during a collective wake for the victims of the nightclub fire.
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A woman weeps on a coffin as relatives of the nightclub fire victims identify bodies.
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Relatives of victims from a fire that broke out at Kiss nightclub weep during their funeral in Santa Maria, Brazil, on Sunday, January 27. More than 230 people died and more than 130 were injured early Sunday when a fire tore through the nightclub packed with university students in southern Brazil, police said
Image via turner.comNo Lesson Learnt
You would think the world would have learned from tragic nightclub fires in recent years, but we haven't, author John Barylick says.
cnn.comMany of the apparent causes of Rio nightclub tragedy carry haunting similarities to The Station in Rhode Island in 2003.
usatoday.com
Nightclub Tragedies In Recent History
Here is a look at some of the biggest nightclub fires in the past century:
google.comIn both cases, police investigators cited the use of indoor pyrotechnics, sound insulation catching fire, blocked exits and potential overcrowding.
reuters.com
A Dec 30, 2004, deadly nightclub fire killed 194 people in Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires. 5 years later, the country's Court of Justice sentenced the club owner to 20 years in prison.
cnn.comA Bangkok nightclub owner turned himself in to police Monday as the death toll from a catastrophic New Year's fire continued to rise.
cnn.comFireworks shot off at a birthday party at a Latin-style bar and restaurant in Changle City in China's Fujian province sparked a fire that claimed 15 lives on January 31, 2009.
cnn.comFireworks triggered a fire and panic on December 5, 2009, at a nightclub in Perm, Russia, killing 156 people.
cnn.com