IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Brazil nightclub fire kills at least 245

A man carries a man injured in a fire at the Kiss club in Santa Maria city, Brazil, early Jan. 27.
A man carries a man injured in a fire at the Kiss club in Santa Maria city, Brazil, early Jan. 27.Agencia RBS via AP
By PhotoBlog

Television footage showed people sobbing outside the club, while shirtless firefighters used sledge hammers and axes to knock down an exterior wall to open up an exit. 

"It was really fast. There was a lot of smoke, really dark smoke," survivor Aline Santos Silva, 29, told Globonews TV. "We were only able to get out quickly because we were in a VIP area close to the door." 

-- Reported by NBC News and wire reports

Read the full story.

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire at Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria, Brazil.
Firefighters try to extinguish a fire at Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria, Brazil.Agencia RBS via Reuters
People help a man injured in a nightclub fire in Santa Maria city, Brazil, on Sunday.
People help a man injured in a nightclub fire in Santa Maria city, Brazil, on Sunday.Agencia RBS via AP
Relatives of those trapped in a nightclub fire in southern Brazil mourn on Sunday.
Relatives of those trapped in a nightclub fire in southern Brazil mourn on Sunday.Ronald Mendes / EPA
A fast-moving nightclub inferno claimed the lives of more than 230 people in southern Brazil.
A fast-moving nightclub inferno claimed the lives of more than 230 people in southern Brazil.Reuters
PhotoBlog