Brazil Nightclub Fire Kills 245

	Brazil Nightclub Fire Kills 245 At least 245 people have been killed in a Brazilian nightclub fire sparked by what witnesses described as a flare or firework lit by members of a band performing onstage. Emergency services fear the death toll in the southern city of Santa Maria could rise because close to 400 revellers were in the Kiss venue when the blaze started. Many of the victims died inhaling toxic fumes during the rush to escape through the venue's single exit, according to local media reports. Television images showed smoke pouring out of the Kiss nightclub as shirtless, young male partygoers joined firefighters in wielding axes and sledgehammers, pounding at windows and walls to break through to those trapped inside. Teenagers sprinted from the scene desperately trying to find help others carried injured and burned friends away in their arms. "There was so much smoke and fire, it was complete panic and it took a long time for people to get out, there were so many dead," survivor Luana Santos Silva told the Globo TV network. Silva added that firefighters and ambulances responded quickly after the fire broke out, but that it spread too fast inside the packed club for them to help. Michele Pereira, another survivor, told the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper that she was near the stage and that the fire broke out after band members lit flares. "The band that was onstage began to use flares and, suddenly, they stopped the show and pointed them upward. At that point the ceiling caught fire. It was really <b>...</b>	From: GuardianFilmShow Views: 1 0 ratings
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