DESPERATION: A man carries a victim (above) from yesterday’s blaze that swept through a Brazilian nightclub (inset), killing at least 230 people. (
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Panicked partygoers stampeded through a crowded Brazilian dance hall early yesterday after a blaze broke out, killing more than 230 people in what appears to be the world’s deadliest nightclub fire in more than a decade.
A flare lit by a band member may have sparked the deadly fire, which broke out at the Kiss club in the city of Santa Maria, at the southern tip of Brazil.
Outside, shirtless, young male revelers grabbed axes and sledgehammers and joined firefighters, pounding at windows and walls to break through to those trapped inside.
Survivors said the lone exit was blocked by the piled-up bodies of those who had perished.
“There was so much smoke and fire, it was complete panic and it took a long time for people to get out. There were so many dead,” survivor Luana Santos Silva told the Globo TV network.
Guido Pedroso Melo, commander of the city’s fire department, said firefighters had a hard time getting inside because “there was a barrier of bodies blocking the entrance.”
Nearly 120 injured were being treated at area hospitals, officials said. Most of the dead apparently suffocated, authorities said.
“The toxic smoke made people lose their sense of direction so they were unable to find their way to the exit,” said Paulo Afonso Beltrame, a doctor.
“At least 50 bodies were found inside a bathroom. Apparently, they confused the bathroom door with the exit door.”
Survivor Michele Pereira said, “The band that was onstage began to use flares and suddenly, they stopped the show and pointed them upward. At that point, the ceiling caught fire. It was really weak, but in a matter of seconds, it spread.”
Accordion player Danilo Jacques, 28, died, while the five other band members made it out, said one band mate.
Police Maj. Cleberson Braida Bastianello said the death toll was likely made worse because the club appeared to have just one exit.