Crowds demand action after Argentina club fire tragedy

Thousands of Argentines have taken to the streets for the third consecutive day, demanding the resignation of city officials they blame for corrupt and slipshod fire safety inspections that paved the way for a nightclub fire that killed 183 people.

One man reportedly set himself on fire.

Anguished and enraged families and friends of those killed in the December 30 blaze hoisted pictures of their loved ones and chanted slogans yesterday, denouncing the mayor and calling for tougher fire safety codes in the city’s nightclubs.

A man reportedly set himself on fire during the protest, local news agency Diarios y Noticias said.

After the main protest, a small group of demonstrators hurled rocks at police and a municipal building. Police dispersed the crowd using water cannons.

Earlier yesterday, many in the crowd said Buenos Aires mayor Anibal Ibarra should be held accountable, and that city-wide reforms be enacted to oversee clubs, which protesters said were largely unregulated.

Authorities have said the emergency exits were padlocked or tied shut, transforming the Cromagnon Republic nightclub into a death trap during the concert last Thursday.

Forensic experts are looking into whether a flare launched by an audience member may have set the club’s foam ceiling on fire.

City officials lowered the death toll from 188 to 183, and health officials recently said that of the more than 700 injured, 263 remain hospitalised, including 117 in serious or critical condition.

Local media reported that several children left in an onsite nursery were among the dead.