233 people were killed in a fire at a nightclub in Brazil. Sky News reported that the co-owner of the club has been arrested after the fire occurred at Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria. Witnesses at the club said that a cloud of toxic smoke engulfed the room and a fire was set off after members of a band onstage lit a firework or flare, early Sunday morning, at approximately 2:30 a.m.
"It was chaotic and it doesn't seem to have been done in bad faith because several security guards also died," police inspector Marcelo Arigony said to Sky News.
Once people at the club noticed something was wrong they ran towards the clubs single exit each pushing each other to get out, falling and stumbling on each other causing a pile up. CNN reported that many people died of smoke inhalation at the club while others were trampled during the rush to get out.
101 of the students who died were students at the Federal University of Santa Maria. There are still 120 people in the hospital as of Monday morning and 79 in critical condition.
There were more than 2,000 people in the club when the fire occurred, which is double its maximum capacity.
CNN reportd that guards at the outside initially stopoped people from leaving which made it more complicated to escape.
"Some guards thought at first that it was a fight, a huge fight that happened inside the club and closed the doors so that the people could not leave without paying their bills from the club, "Glauber Fernandes, said to CNN.
The band Gurizada Fandangueira was playing at Kiss at the time and was popular partly due to their pyrotechnic show. The band played once a month.
One of the gand members, Martins said to Radio Gaucha that they had been on stage for about 20 minutes when they set off its sputnk pyrotechnics which are sparkler columns that shoot into the air.
"We used it all the time. ... We never had this problem before," he said to Radio Gaucha.
He said they saw a small ember at first then looked up at the ceiling and saw flames. A backstage hand tried to use a fire extinguisher on it, but failed. The bands accordian player, 28-year-old Danilo Jacques died in the fire.
The Brazilian people are the ones who need me today," Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said according to CNN, ""I want to tell the people of Santa Maria in this time of sadness that we are all together."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
