Bouncers initially blocked people from leaving club
- 11 years ago
Waiting for confirmation -- relatives gathered outside the morgue --- just hours after a fire broke out at this nightclub in Southern Brazil.
SOUNDBITE: A relative of one of the people inside the club saying (Portuguese):
"We went there, but we couldn't get close (to the gym). The police officer told us only dead bodies were being kept in there, so we left and started looking in all the hospitals. Her name hasn't been released, but we are still holding hope."
Officials say at least 232 people were killed in the fire, down from original estimates of 245.
This was the scene outside the club just moments after the fire broke out around 2:30 in the morning. In the aftermath, panicked partygoers stampeded toward blocked and overcrowded exits.
Fire officials say at least one of the exits was locked and that bouncers initially blocked patrons from leaving because they assumed they were trying to skip out on bar tabs.
They relented only when they saw flames engulfing the ceiling.
Many of the people inside the club were college students.
Local media reported that one of the club's owners has already surrendered to police for questioning. A pyrotechnic show is being blamed for starting the fire.
SOUNDBITE: A relative of one of the people inside the club saying (Portuguese):
"We went there, but we couldn't get close (to the gym). The police officer told us only dead bodies were being kept in there, so we left and started looking in all the hospitals. Her name hasn't been released, but we are still holding hope."
Officials say at least 232 people were killed in the fire, down from original estimates of 245.
This was the scene outside the club just moments after the fire broke out around 2:30 in the morning. In the aftermath, panicked partygoers stampeded toward blocked and overcrowded exits.
Fire officials say at least one of the exits was locked and that bouncers initially blocked patrons from leaving because they assumed they were trying to skip out on bar tabs.
They relented only when they saw flames engulfing the ceiling.
Many of the people inside the club were college students.
Local media reported that one of the club's owners has already surrendered to police for questioning. A pyrotechnic show is being blamed for starting the fire.