The US government is urgently shipping treatment kits for survivors of this week's nightclub fire in southern Brazil, Reuters reports. Officials say that 119 people remain hospitalized from Sunday's fire.
US 'sending cyanide treatment kits' for nightclub fire victims
Aftermath of the fire in a club in Santa Maria Credit: REUTERS/Yuri Weber/Agencia O Dia
The US government is urgently shipping treatment kits for survivors of this week's nightclub fire in southern Brazil, Reuters reports.
Officials say that 119 people remain hospitalized from Sunday's fire.
Brazilian doctors have said cyanide was among the chemicals produced when fire consumed the soundproofing foam on the club's ceiling.
The cyanide-treatment kits, which are not available in Brazil, were urgently requested by Brazil's Health Ministry and are scheduled to arrive on a commercial flight via Miami on Saturday morning.
Images of the burnt out Boate Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil have been released by police. Credit: REUTERS/Policia Civil/Handout Police photographs show the interior of the Santa Maria nightclub. Credit: REUTERS/Policia Civil/Handout Investigators examine the scene inside the Brazilian nightclub. Credit: REUTERS/Policia Civil/Handout
Mourners march to remember Brazil nightclub victims
Tens of thousands of mourners have marched through the streets of Santa Maria in Brazil to remember the lives lost in the nightclub fire at the weekend. It was a moment to protest too, and to demand justice, as our Brazil Correspondent Nick Ravenscroft reports.
Amid the grief in Brazil, there is a growing sense of anger over the nightclub fire that killed more than 230 people.
Banners and flowers in honor of the victims of the fire in the Boate Kiss nightclub Credit: Reuters
NBC Correspondent Keir Simmons is in Brazil. He says investigators have a long list of safety questions that need answering, including why did the nightclub apparently have only one exit? And did security staff briefly block exits to stop people leaving without paying their drink bills?
Brazilian hero Pele calls for improved safety after fire
Brazilian football legend Pele has written on Twitter that the Brazilian Government "must make event safety and security a priority," after more than 230 people were killed in a nightclub fire in the southern city of Santa Maria.
Many of the mourners dressed in white and carried photographs of those who lost their lives in fire during the procession.
Thousands marched through the streets of Santa Maria following the nightclub fire which killed more than 200 people. Credit: REUTERS/Ricardo MoraesPeople gather in front of the nightclub in Brazil after a fire there killed 233 people. Credit: REUTERS/Ricardo MoraesA man kneels downs as he mourns in front of flowers placed in tribute to the victims of the Kiss nightclub fire in Brazil. Credit: REUTERS/Edison Vara A march is held in tribute to the victims of the Kiss nightclub fire, in Santa Maria, Brazil Credit: REUTERS/Stringer
by Nick Ravenscroft - ITV News Brazil Correspondent
Tonight there will be a special mass for the victims, followed by a silent march through the city. That is on the one hand an expression of remembrance for those who died but it is also a voice of anger that this should have been allowed to happen in the first place.
Today we have had some 50 people buried, with the funerals beginning before dawn. That number 50 is shocking in itself but just think that is less than a quarter of the total number of people who perished.
We have heard more details about what happened and the horror of the early hours of yesterday morning.
We have heard how doormen apparently thought that people who were trying to flee the nightclub were trying to avoid paying their bar bill and that some people who were disorientated by the toxic fumes, rather than escaping as they thought, were actually walking the wrong way, further into danger.
Reports emerge about potential errors at nightclub
The nightclub where a deadly fire broke out did not have a fire escape, an alarm did not sound and when a band member tried to put out the blaze, the extinguisher did not work, according to the Associated Press.
According to state safety codes in Brazil, nightclubs should have one fire extinguisher every 1,500 square feet as well as multiple emergency exits.
The damaged bar area of the Boate Kiss nightclub in the city of Santa Maria, Brazil. Credit: Reuters
Police question 'nightclub owner and band members'
Relatives of Carlos Alexandre Machado, one of the victims of a fire at Boate Kiss nightclub, mourn during his funeral. Credit: Reuters
Police are questioning the owner of a nightclub where a fire killed 231 people and members of the band who were playing there, Reuters reported.
More than 80 people remain in hospital in and around the southern city of Santa Maria. At least 30 of them are thought to be in a serious condition.
The band's guitarist, Rodrigo Lemos Martins said he doubted the band was responsible for the blaze. The Folha de S.Paulo newspaper quoted him as saying: "There were lots of wires (in the ceiling), maybe it was a short circuit."
Three arrested in connection with Brazil nightclub fire
Three people have been arrested in connection with a fire in a nightclub that killed more than 230 people, Brazilian Police said, the Associated Press reported.
Police said they are seeking a fourth person in connection with the incident.
