232 killed in nightclub fire in Brazil

In a horrific tragedy that would raise serious questions about public safety in Brazil, some 232 people - mostly teenagers - were killed in an inferno that swept through a nightclub, Kiss, in Santa Maria, a small city in Rio Grande do Sul, the prosperous southern state which shares its border with Argentina and Uruguay.

Firefighters try to put out a fire at a nightclub in Santa Maria, 550 Km from Porto Alegre, southern Brazil.

Relatives of victims of the fire at Boate Kiss nightclub attend a collective wake in the southern city of Santa Maria, 187 miles (301 km) west of the state capital Porto Alegre.

While most people escaped unhurt, according to officials in Santa Maria, more than 131 are being treated in hospitals in the region, with the condition of at least eight people being serious. The firefighters said the fatalities happened due to inhalation of toxic smoke. "Most of these people died of asphyxiation. They panicked and ended up trampling each other.

The fire was so intense that fire crews had to knock down a wall to enter the premises and help those trapped inside escape.Major Gerson da Rosa Ferreira, overseeing rescue efforts at the scene for the military police, told reporters in Santa Maria that bodies had already been identified and removed from the nightclub and taken to a local gym.

As fireworks hit the ceiling of the club, packed with 2,000 teenagers enjoying a Saturday night party, the soundproofing material made of foam caught fire and within minutes the club was engulfed in huge flames and thick smoke, with most young boys and girls being asphyxiated or trampled to death. As the main door of the club was locked, the place turned into a death trap for the youngsters.

The dead included 120 men and 110 women. More than 131 people were injured in the incident. The inferno started during the fireworks show when a band was playing in the club on Saturday night.

Earlier, the military brigade had informed reporters at a press conference that the number of dead was 245. With the toll of 232, this is the second biggest tragedy in Brazil, the first being the death of 503 people in a circus fire in Rio state in 1961.

Styrofoam creates a toxic smoke too, " the commanding general of the fire department, Col Guido de Melo told TOI over telephone from Santa Maria, a rich city of 300,000 people located some 300 km west of the state capital of Porto Alegre, which will host a few games of Fifa World Cup in 2014.