Three people have been arrested for a fatal fire that swept through a Santa Maria nightclub and killed 231 people, while funerals of the deceased were underway.
The club owner and two members of the band performing there at the time of the fire were arrested on Monday, police confirmed.
Another owner of the Kiss nightclub in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul was considered a fugitive, a police spokesman told news website G1.
Investigators are looking into reports of overcrowding inside the club, according to Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo, who is reporting from Santa Maria.
He said there were reports that as many as 1,000 to 2,000 people in their 20s were at the club when the fire broke out.
Some witnesses also reportedly claimed that security at the club initially shut down the main entrance, preventing people from making a quick exit, Elizondo said.
Police Major Cleberson Braida Bastianello said officials counted 231 bodies that had been brought for identification to a gymnasium after the blaze erupted early on Sunday.
Bastianello said that they lowered the toll from 245 earlier believed killed at the Kiss nightclub.
Major Gerson da Rosa Ferreira, who was leading rescue efforts at the scene for the military police, said the victims died of asphyxiation or from being trampled.
The identification process of the bodies had been completed by early Monday, reported Al Jazeera's Teresa Bo, also in Santa Maria.
Underage visitors
Investigations suggested that there was only a single exit door in the crowded nightclub, and that in the confusion immediately after the fire broke out, it was initially shut by staff, she said.
Authorities also say that many of those who died were between 16 and 20 years old, and were reportedly allowed inside the club even though they were underage, Al Jazeera's Bo said.
Santa Maria is near the borders with Argentina and Uruguay, about 300km west of the state capital of Porto Alegre.
Luiza Sousa, a civil police official in Santa Maria, told Reuters news agency that the blaze started when a member of the band or its production team ignited a flare that then set fire to the ceiling, which was apparently covered with insulating foam.
The fire spread "in seconds", Sousa said.
Sandro Meinerz, a police inspector, told the Agencia Estado news agency that manslaughter charges could be filed against the band, at least one of whom died in the fire, or their crew.
Source : Aljazeera
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The club owner and two members of the band performing there at the time of the fire were arrested on Monday, police confirmed.
Another owner of the Kiss nightclub in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul was considered a fugitive, a police spokesman told news website G1.
Investigators are looking into reports of overcrowding inside the club, according to Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo, who is reporting from Santa Maria.
He said there were reports that as many as 1,000 to 2,000 people in their 20s were at the club when the fire broke out.
Some witnesses also reportedly claimed that security at the club initially shut down the main entrance, preventing people from making a quick exit, Elizondo said.
Police Major Cleberson Braida Bastianello said officials counted 231 bodies that had been brought for identification to a gymnasium after the blaze erupted early on Sunday.
Bastianello said that they lowered the toll from 245 earlier believed killed at the Kiss nightclub.
Major Gerson da Rosa Ferreira, who was leading rescue efforts at the scene for the military police, said the victims died of asphyxiation or from being trampled.
The identification process of the bodies had been completed by early Monday, reported Al Jazeera's Teresa Bo, also in Santa Maria.
Underage visitors
Investigations suggested that there was only a single exit door in the crowded nightclub, and that in the confusion immediately after the fire broke out, it was initially shut by staff, she said.
Authorities also say that many of those who died were between 16 and 20 years old, and were reportedly allowed inside the club even though they were underage, Al Jazeera's Bo said.
Santa Maria is near the borders with Argentina and Uruguay, about 300km west of the state capital of Porto Alegre.
Luiza Sousa, a civil police official in Santa Maria, told Reuters news agency that the blaze started when a member of the band or its production team ignited a flare that then set fire to the ceiling, which was apparently covered with insulating foam.
The fire spread "in seconds", Sousa said.
Sandro Meinerz, a police inspector, told the Agencia Estado news agency that manslaughter charges could be filed against the band, at least one of whom died in the fire, or their crew.
Source : Aljazeera
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