Brazil orders stricter security rules at nightclubs after disco fire
Bouncers blocked exits thinking people were leaving without paying, say witnesses
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday ordered authorities across the nation to enforce fire safety and crowd-limitation regulations more strictly at nightclubs and bars after a fire ripped through a packed disco in a university town last weekend, killing 231 people and injuring more than 100 others.
The blaze is said to be Brazil's deadliest in more than 50 years. Authorities arrested the disco's two owners and two members of a Brazilian country band, including the lead singer, who, according to the police, set off a flare during their performance that allegedly caused the fire.
The incident occurred early Sunday morning at the Kiss nightclub in Santa María, Río Grande do Sul, which is home to several large universities.
"We have an obligation to ensure that this will never happen again," Rousseff said after cutting short her visit to the European Union and Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) summit in Santiago, Chile.
Police say that a flare set off during a performance by a band caused the fire
On Monday, Health Minister Alexandre Padilha asked for human skin from Argentina, Peru and Uruguay for graft procedures required by many of the 128 injured, who were being treated in hospitals for burns.
The tragedy has sparked outrage across the country with people demanding those responsible for the safety at the club also be prosecuted. According to authorities, the club's emergency exit signs were not working and the only available exit was too small for club-goers to escape through.
Most of the victims died from smoke asphyxiation. Television scenes showed police and medical teams attending to people who were lying on the ground outside the club. Witnesses said that they saw bouncers trying to block the exits at first because they believed they were customers trying to leave without paying for their drinks.
The daily Folha do São Paulo reported Tuesday on its website that the club was authorized to admit up to 691 people but that night there were between 900 and 1,000 present.
Brazilian prosecutors began confiscating property, including bank accounts, of the owners of the Kiss nightclub to ensure there will be money to compensate the victims in civil lawsuits, Nilton Arnecke, public defender at Río Grande do Sul, told Efe news agency.
Brazilian Congress speaker Marco Maia, of the ruling Workers Party (PT) announced that lawmakers would conduct a full investigation into the tragedy and come up with new national regulations for public spaces.
The concern comes as Brazil prepares to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors to the soccer World Cup next year and the Olympic Games in 2016.
At the crime scene, police said that there were indications of a possible cover-up because security cameras and a computer were missing from the club.
Some 15,000 people wearing white marched through the city on Monday night demanding justice. "Somebody has to be responsible," said Elaine Márques Goncalves, who lost one son in the blaze and has another in hospital.
