Brazilian police have made four arrests in connection to a nightclub fire that killed 231 people in southern city Santa Maria last weekend.
A co-owner of the Kiss nightclub handed himself over to police yesterday afternoon, following the arrests of another co-owner, a member of the band Gurizada Fandangueira and its security head. The fire is reported to have started after a Gurizada Fandangueira performer lit a flare on stage whilst playing with his band. Brazil’s national government has declared three days’ of national mourning following Sunday’s disaster, while Santa Maria has declared 30 days.
Local authorities have now announced the names of the victims, as well as setting up a temporary mortuary in a gym because Santa Maria’s main facility is unable to cope. More than 100 survivors are being treated in hospital, many for smoke inhalation. Santa Maria is an established university city and around 100 students are thought to be among the dead.
One local journalist Marcelo Gonzatto commented that: “lots of people couldn’t get out and died mainly because of the smoke not the fire.” Witness Mattheus Bortolotto added: “It was sheer horror. The emergency exits did not work.”
There is already pressure for a far-reaching, fast-moving investigation able to answer whether the failings were down to the club or city officials who allowed Kiss to remain open after its license expired last year. Wider questions are being asked about Brazil’s safety standards in general, particularly with the football World Cup due to take place in 2014.
