By Shasta Darlington, CNN
updated 9:04 AM EST, Sun January 27, 2013
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Bodies have been taken to a nearby sporting complex; anxious families wait outside
- NEW: State media reports that at least 245 people are dead
- Some people were trampled in the panic to leave the club, Band News reports
- The fire started at about 2 a.m. at the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria
Are you there? Share your story
Sao Paolo, Brazil (CNN) -- A fire swept through a popular nightclub in southern Brazil on Sunday, killing at least 245 people, state media reported, citing police.
The death toll was expected to climb as firefighters continued to pull bodies from the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, said Col. Adilomar Silva, the regional coordinator of civil defense.
Most of those killed appeared to have died of smoke inhalation, Silva said. Hundreds are believed to have been injured, though an exact count was not immediately available.
Many people were trampled in the panic to leave the club, one security guard told CNN affiliate Band News.
Families and friends searching for information were outside a nearby sporting complex, where bodies were taken for identification, the state-run Agencia Brasil reported.
Police described it as the worst tragedy ever to affect Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul state, Band News said.
The fire started at about 2 a.m. after the acoustic insulation in the Kiss nightclub caught fire, Silva said.
There was a pyrotechnics show going on inside the club when the fire started. Authorities stopped short of blaming it for the blaze, saying the cause was still under investigation.
The incident called to mind a 2003 nightclub fire in Rhode Island where pyrotechnics used by the heavy metal band Great White ignited a blaze that killed more than 90 people.
Pyrotechnics were also involved in a 2004 night club fire in Argentina that killed 194 people and a 2009 explosion at a night club in Russia that left more than 100 dead.
The Kiss nightclub is popular with young people in Santa Maria, drawing between 2,000 and 3,000 people a night on the weekends.
The blaze broke out during a weekend when students were celebrating the end of summer. Students at many Brazilian universities return to school on Monday.
Santa Maria is home to the Federal University of Santa Maria as well as a number of other private universities and colleges.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who has been in Chile for a regional summit, was expected to come to Rio Grande do Sul, the state government said in a statement.
CNN's Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report from Atlanta.
Part of complete coverage on
updated 9:34 AM EST, Fri January 25, 2013
North Korea has responded to new Security Council sanctions condemning its December 12 rocket launch.
updated 5:37 AM EST, Thu January 24, 2013
Author of 'Love 2.0: How Our Supreme Emotion Affects Everything We Feel, Think, Do, and Become', shares 10 lessons she has learned.
updated 7:56 AM EST, Fri January 25, 2013
Refugees say that after a tough journey out of Syria, they feel abandoned by international community.
updated 11:07 AM EST, Fri January 25, 2013
Protests are planned to mark second anniversary of Egypt revolution. Cynthia Schneider says U.S. underestimates the anti-Morsy sentiment.
updated 12:13 PM EST, Fri January 25, 2013
Isabel Dos Santos, daughter of long-serving Angolan president Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, is Africa's first female billionaire, say Forbes.
updated 7:15 AM EST, Fri January 25, 2013
It's likely someone from Hong Kong has just beaten you to this story.
updated 8:50 AM EST, Fri January 25, 2013
The owner of a South African crocodile farm was forced to open the gates to his house to prevent a storm surge.
updated 7:58 AM EST, Sun January 27, 2013
Never underestimate the power of visualization. World No.1 talks to CNN's Open Court about life at the top and his upbringing in Serbia.
updated 5:19 AM EST, Fri January 25, 2013
Samsung's strong quarter highlights that it is beating Apple on emerging market growth. Pauline Chiou reports.
updated 10:59 AM EST, Thu January 24, 2013
Following the trend in developed nations, BRIC women are graduating from university at rates equal to or exceeding men.
updated 10:20 PM EST, Thu January 24, 2013
Dr. Gupta describes how doctors saved a girl who was born with part of her heart beating outside of her chest.
A new airport is poised to bring modern tourism to little-visited Chiloe Island. Locals wonder what being "discovered" will mean for them.
At least 245 killed in Brazil nightclub fire, report says
This article
At least 245 killed in Brazil nightclub fire, report says
can be opened in url
http://newscopperas.blogspot.com/2013/01/at-least-245-killed-in-brazil-nightclub.html
At least 245 killed in Brazil nightclub fire, report says
