Fire survivors claim store doors locked

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.

Hundreds more were injured, many with serious burns, after the blaze swept through the multilevel Ycua Bolanos supermarket on the outskirts of the capital, Asuncion, while it was crowded with shoppers around midday on Sunday.

At least 311 people were killed, Interior Minister Orlando Fiorotto announced at midday yesterday after another morning of searching at the charred supermarket.

The nation's Health Ministry also said 276 people were injured, including 70 victims in intensive care with critical burns or breathing problems.

Officials said it was the worst tragedy in Paraguay since a failed military insurrection in 1947 left some 8,000 people dead.

The heat of the blaze caused one floor to collapse, crushing dozens of cars in the parking lot as flames engulfed the motorists inside, police said. Badly burned bodies, some with twisted limbs, were pulled from the debris on Sunday as black smoke billowed overhead. Rescuers led away dozens of children found near the store's toy department.

"This is a moment of great anguish," President Nicanor Duarte said as he declared three days of national mourning. Classes were also cancelled in Asuncion, and people jammed hospitals and clinics to donate blood.

Authorities said they had detained two owners of the supermarket for questioning about reports by some survivors that doors had been locked.

A statement released by the management denied doors were locked after the fire broke out, to prevent looting.

Police said they were also investigating survivor accounts that the fire may have been fuelled by an exploding gas canister in the food court area. Authorities said they still had not concluded what caused the blaze.

One survivor, Celeste Silva Hermosa, told Paraguayan television she found her way blocked. "The door was closed," said Silva Hermoso.

"The people just kept pushing me along."

Juan Pio Paiva, one of the detained owners, angrily denied any speculation that doors had been deliberately locked.

"The security guards confirmed that the doors weren't closed by them," he said, reading from a statement in which he said he "lamented" the disaster. He added the building met with necessary safety standards.

Fearful of dangers of working in the still-smouldering building overnight, rescue workers and firefighters resumed digging yesterday, trying to work their way further into a crushed parking garage and food court.

Authorities warned they still could find further victims in the sprawling complex.

The head of a volunteer fire brigade, Captain David Rojas, said identification of many of the remains would go slowly.

"We are finding badly mutilated bodies, in some areas only torn limbs," he said.

Overnight, army troops somberly unloaded truckloads of wooden coffins at makeshift morgues.

Tearful relatives filed in early yesterday to identify bodies and funerals were being planned at cemeteries around the capital.

Pope John Paul II sent a message of condolence to the predominantly Roman Catholic country yesterday, as did Germany's foreign minister, Joschka Fischer.

Survivor Victor Catan told Argentinian television that he lost his wife in the blaze but escaped with his young son by stumbling out in the dark. "I managed to get out with son, but my wife didn't make it," Mr Catan said, adding he was still searching for her.