Brazil nightclub fire

via The Big Picture em 30/01/13

Families started burying their dead and protesters marched through the streets in the wake of the devastating Kiss nightclub fire that killed more than 230 people in Santa Maria, Brazil, last weekend. A band's pyrotechnics show, which police said used flares meant for outdoors, has been blamed for setting the windowless building ablaze trapping many clubgoers inside as they fled through a single, overcrowded exit. -- Lloyd Young (28 photos total)

A woman cries during a protest against the deaths from the fire at the Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria, Brazil, on Jan. 29. The fire killed more than 230 people in Santa Maria early on Sunday when a band's pyrotechnics show set the building ablaze and fleeing partygoers stampeded toward blocked and overcrowded exits in the ensuing panic, officials said. (Ricardo Moraes/Reuters)

2

Relatives and friends carry the coffin of Vinicius Rosado through a cemetery during his burial in Santa Maria, Brazil, on Jan. 28. (Felipe Dana/Associated Press) #

3

A woman cries over the coffin of her boyfriend at a gymnasium where bodies were brought for identification in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, on Jan. 27. They were both at the Kiss nightclub when flames raced through the crowded club in southern Brazil early Sunday, killing more than 230 people as panicked partygoers gasped for breath in the smoke-filled air, stampeding toward a single exit partially blocked by those already dead. (Nabor Goulart/Associated Press) #

4

Firefighters work to douse a fire at the Kiss Club in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, on Jan. 27. (Agencia RBS via Associated Press) #

5

Locals help evacuate injured victims after the fire in the nightclub in Santa Maria. (Deivid Dutra/European Pressphotos Agency) #

6

A partial view at the entrance to the Kiss nightclub where a blaze killed more than 230 people, on Jan. 27. Brazilian police arrested four suspects, two of the Kiss club's owners, along with a pair of musicians who starred in the ill-fated pyrotechnic show, in the wake of the nightclub fire that forced sports officials to defend preparations for the World Cup and Olympics. (Jefferson Bernardes/AFP/Getty Images) #

7

A man stands near coffins containing the remains of victims after the bodies were identified at a gymnasium in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, on Jan. 27. (Felipe Dana/Associated Press) #

8

A man cries during the burial of Vinicius Rosado, who died in a nightclub fire, at a cemetery in Santa Maria, Brazil, on Jan. 28. (Felipe Dana/Associated Press) #

9

A rider watches the funeral of Silvio Beurer Filho, a victim of the Kiss nightclub fire in Santa Maria on Jan. 28. (Marcelo Sayoa/European Pressphotos Agency) #

10

A woman holds up a black banner as people protest near the Kiss nightclub where a fire killed over 230 people in Santa Maria, Brazil, on Jan. 29. The Rio Grande do Sul state forensics department raised the death toll Tuesday from 231 to 234 to account for three victims who did not appear on the original list of the dead. Authorities say more than 120 people remain hospitalized for smoke inhalation and burns, with dozens of them in critical condition, after the Sunday nightclub fire. (Felipe Dana/Associated Press) #

11

Mauro Hoffman, co-owner of the Kiss nightclub where a blaze on Sunday early morning left a death toll of more than 230, is taken into custody by police in Santa Maria, southern Brazil, on Jan. 28. Police in Brazil arrested four suspects Monday after a nightclub fire killed 231, left dozens more clinging to life, and forced officials to defend readiness for the Olympics and World Cup. Two owners of the Kiss club were arrested, along with a pair of musicians who starred in the ill-fated pyrotechnic show blamed for sparking Sunday's tragedy in the university town of Santa Maria in the south of the country. (Emerson/AFP/Getty Images) #

12

Police officers enter the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, on Jan. 28. A fast-moving fire roared through the crowded, windowless Kiss nightclub in this southern Brazilian city early Sunday, killing more than 230 people. Many of the victims were under 20 years old, including some minors. (Felipe Dana/Associated Press) #

13

A policeman puts flowers in front of the facade of the Kiss nightclub where a blaze killed more than 230 people, on Jan. 27. (Jefferson Bernarder/AFP/Getty Images) #

14

Benhur Vieira, who lost several friends in the blaze that destroyed the Boate Kiss nightclub, writes a message for the victims on the pavement in front of the club as residents watch on Jan. 28. The drawing of a heart with the number 231, reads: "Justice. The heart that cries for the lost." (Edison Vara/Reuters) #

15

A young woman weeps as she is embraced by an unidentified man wearing a T-shirt with an image of the crying woman's sister, a victim of the Kiss nightclub fatal fire, during a protest in Santa Maria, Brazil, on Jan. 29. Locals marched through Santa Maria to demand justice for the dead. The demonstration interrupted a news conference as the police investigator pledged to investigate everyone involved in the tragedy including the authorities charged with making sure such establishments are up to code. (Felipe Dana/Associated Press) #

16

Residents of Santa Maria march along the Rio Branco avenue demanding justice and in homage to the victims of Kiss nightclub fire. (Antonio Scorza/AFP/Getty Images) #

17

People take part in a march in tribute to the victims of the Kiss nightclub fire in the southern city of Santa Maria on Jan. 28. (Ricardo Moraes/Reuters) #

18

The parents and siblings of Paraguayan student Guido Britez, 21, who died during the nightclub in Brazil, mourn next to his coffin during the funeral in Asuncion, Paraguay, on Jan. 29. (Norberto Duarte/AFP/Getty Images) #

19

Girls cry in front of a makeshift memorial outside the Kiss nightclub where a fire killed over 230 people in Santa Maria, Brazil, on Jan. 29. The repercussions of the tragic nightclub fire in southern Brazil widened Tuesday as mayors around the country cracked down on such venues in their own cities and investigators searched two other nightspots owned by a partner in the club that caught ablaze. Most of the dead were college students 18 to 21 years old, but they also included some minors. (Felipe Dana/Associated Press) #

20

Family members and friends stand around coffins containing the remains of victims after the bodies were identified at a gymnasium in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. (Nabor Goulart/Associated Press) #

21

A close-up of the hands of a victim from the fire at Kiss nightclub during the identification process in Santa Maria on Jan. 28. (Marcelo Sayao/European Pressphotos Agency) #

22

A relative cries during the identification of victims of the Kiss nightclub fire. (Marcelo Sayao/European Pressphotos Agency) #

23

A woman kneels next to the Kiss nightclub, in the southern city of Santa Maria, 187 miles west of the state capital Porto Alegre, on Jan. 29. Brazilian police investigating the nightclub fire detained on Monday the owners of the club and two band members whose pyrotechnics show authorities say triggered the blaze. (Ricardo Moraes/Reuters) #

24

Soldiers of the presidential guard raise the flag at half-mast at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia to honor the victims of a nightclub blaze in Santa Maria, southern Brazil, on Jan. 28. (Pedro Ladeira/AFP/Getty Images) #

25

A woman shouts slogans against the city mayor during a protest near the Kiss nightclub where over 230 people died in a fire in Santa Maria, Brazil, on Jan. 29. Santa Maria is a college town of 260,000 people that's been stunned by the early Sunday morning tragedy. (Felipe Dana/Associated Press) #

26

A man prays in front of a makeshift memorial outside the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil, on Jan. 29. (Felipe Dana/Associated Press) #

27

A makeshift memorial that includes pictures of the victims of the Kiss nightclub fatal fire is seen inside the gymnasium where a collective funeral was held on Jan. 29. (Felipe Dana/Associated Press) #