Nightclub fire death toll rises to 174

A fire swept through a crowded Buenos Aires nightclub during a rock concert, killing at least 174 people and injuring more than 410 as young concertgoers scrambled for the exits, officials said today.

The blaze broke out late last night and the building in the Argentine capital quickly filled with smoke, setting off a stampede for the emergency exits, witnesses said. Television images showed the bodies of youngsters curled up on the sidewalk as bystanders and shirtless teenagers carried people out of the smouldering Republica de la Cromagnon disco.

“People were pushing and jumping over each other trying to get out,” said Jose Maria Godoy, one of the concertgoers. “It was like a human wave. As people fell down running for the door, others just simply ran over them or pushed them down.”

City officials said it wasn’t immediately clear what caused the fire, but several witnesses said they saw a flare hit a foam lining on the roof of the concert hall, triggering a fire.

“Someone from the crowd tossed a flare and, immediately, there were flames,” said Fabian Zamudeo, 22, who had gone to the club to see the popular Argentine rock band, Los Callejeros.

“Parts of the roof started falling down in flames and people started running, knocking over the speakers and light stands,” he added. “People were choking on smoke and I tried to push as many people out as I could.”

Alfredo Stein, an official in the Buenos Aires health department, told reporters at least 174 had been killed and more than 410 people injured. Argentine media reported as many 1,500 people were believed to have been in the building at the time, with some saying the amount could be almost twice as much.

Many of the dead died from smoke inhalation, said Mariano Tili, a Buenos Aires city official helping in the rescue effort.

Hundreds of bystanders and relatives stood outside the building as rescue workers carried the wounded away on stretchers. Others could be seen treating the injured on the street in front of the disco in the Argentine capital. The club is popular with teenagers.

Rescue workers turned a nearby parking lot into a temporary morgue, lining up dozens of bodies as parents rushed to the club looking for their children.

As firefighters battled the flames, some teenagers – many dazed and covered in soot – lingered outside the building, shouting out the names of friends, hoping to find them.

Streets near the nightclub in downtown Buenos Aires were littered with pairs of tennis shoes and blackened clothes – the remains of a chaotic scene that saw hordes of people pushing their way out of the building.

An unidentified youngster told the TodoNoticias television network that the heavy smoke quickly filled up the concert hall.

“We could barely see there was so much smoke,” he said. “People were kicking the doors down trying to get out.”

The fire was the worst in South America since a blaze swept through a Paraguayan supermarket in August, killing 399 people in an Asuncion suburb. Authorities later said the doors were ordered shut by the store’s owners to prevent looting, trapping people inside.