Bands pyrotecnics kills 245 in Brazil night club

At least 245 people have died in a fire that swept through a nightclub in a university city in southern Brazil, police and officials say. Local media say the fire began when a band let off fireworks at the Kiss club in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul.

Reports say panic spread as people tried to get out. Many victims reportedly died from inhaling toxic fumes or from being crushed. The fire is now out and bodies are being removed from the scene. President Dilma Rousseff cut short a visit to Chile and was returning to Brazil following the blaze, her spokesperson said. In a tweet, the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Tarso Genro, said it was a “sad Sunday” and that all possible action was being taken in response to the fire. He would be in the city later on Sunday, he added.

The priority for the authorities is now to identify the dead with many distressed relatives arriving at the scene, but in the hours ahead the focus will turn to the cause of this accident and safety procedures at the club, as reported by the BBC.