SURVIVORS of an inferno in a crowded supermarket said locked doors slowed their escape from the fire that killed at least 311 people in Paraguay's worst disaster in more than half a century.

An exploding gas canister in a food department may have fuelled a fire that killed up to 340 people in a crowded supermarket in Paraguay’s worst disaster in more than half a century.

Dozens of people were killed when fire swept through a supermarket on the outskirts of Paraguay’s capital Asuncion today.