Devastating nightclub fire in Brazil kills 232, injures more than 100

A fire at a crowded nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil, killed 232 people on Saturday and injured more than 100. At least 500 people were believed to be inside the Kiss club when the fire started around 2 a.m. Witnesses told police that the band performing onstage lit flares or fireworks and held them up, which set the ceiling alight. Dr. Paulo Afonso Beltrame, a medical school professor who helped treat victims, said 90 percent of them died of asphyxiation. Others were trampled; security guard Rodrigo Moura likened the scene of the crushing crowds to a horror film. Santa Maria is a college city in southern Brazil with about 250,000 residents. The incident was the world’s deadliest nightclub fire since 309 people were killed Luoyang, China, in 2000. [Source]

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