More than 200 die in Brazil nightclub blaze

At least 233 people are dead after a fire broke out in a nightclub in southern Brazil on Sunday after a band’s pyrotechnics show caught the ceiling on fire causing a stampede for blocked exits. Many died from suffocating on toxic fumes that filled the Boate Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria after pyrotechnics set fire to soundproofing foam on the ceiling, local fire officials said. The fire started around 2am while rock band Gurizada Fundangueira was performing on stage. Medical student Murilo de Toledo Tiecher, 26, said the band’s singer lit a flare and held it over his head, which caused the ceiling to catch on fire. Band members were seen attempting to douse the flames with water. They also tried with a fire extinguisher, said club employee Ingrid Goldani. Security initially prevented people from exiting the club because they thought patrons were trying to skip out on their bar tabs. They began to let people out after they realized the ceiling was on fire. Tiecher also said people were trapped after running to the bathroom close to the exit, assuming that is was a way out. Authorities said 120 men and 113 women died in the blaze, and 92 people are still being treated in hospitals. Colonel Guido Pedroso de Melo, commander of the fire brigade in Rio Grande do Sul, said the club was filled with 1,500 people.