Buenos Aires
(updated 12th January 2006)
174 Killed in Nightclub Blaze (from AOL News)
An injured man breathes with the help of an oxygen mask outside the nightclub. At least 174 people were reported to have been killed and more than 400 injured after fire tore through a crowded Buenos Aires nightclub during a rock concert. The blaze broke out late on Thursday, quickly filling the building with smoke and setting off a stampede for the emergency exits at the Republica de la Crogmanon disco, where an Argentine rock band was performing. "People were pushing and jumping over each other trying to get out," Jose Maria Godoy, one of the concertgoers, told The Associated Press. "It was like a human wave. As people fell down running for the door, others just simply ran over them or pushed them down." Television images showed the bodies of some youngsters curled up on the pavements as bystanders and concertgoers carried people out of the smouldering building. Hundreds of bystanders and relatives stood outside the club as rescue workers carried some of the wounded away on stretchers. Others could be seen treating the injured on the street in front of the disco, which is popular with teenagers. Alfredo Stern of the Buenos Aires health department said at least 174 had been killed and more than 400 people injured. City officials said it was not immediately clear what caused the fire, but several witnesses said they saw a flare hit a foam lining on the roof of concert hall, sparking the fire. "Someone from the crowd tossed a flare and, immediately, there were flames," said Fabian Zamudeo, a 22-year-old in the crowd. "Parts of the roof started falling down in flames and people started running, knocking over the speakers and light stands. People were choking on smoke and I tried to push as many people out as I could." Argentine media reported as many 1,500 people were believed to have been in the building at the time, with some saying the number could be almost twice as much.
Fire in Buenos Aires club kills 175. Fri 31 Dec, 2004 15:24:26 GMT By Mary Milliken
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) -A fire has torn through a Buenos Aires nightclub packed with young New Year's revellers and has killed at least 175 people after a stampeding crowd was trapped by locked exit doors, officials say. At least 714 people were injured in the Thursday night blaze, thought to have been caused by a flare that was fired during a rock concert and sent burning debris onto the crowd of up to 4,000 people, who desperately fought to flee. "The fire spread in a minute and we were a mountain of people trying to escape," said survivor Ariel Monges, 25, who lost a friend and a cousin in the smoke and flames and was searching for another friend at a city hospital on Friday. Four of the Republica Cromagnon club's six doors were tied shut with wire or padlocks, according to Interior Minister Anibal Fernandez. "It appears they were condemned to walk into a trap," Fernandez said. Mayor Anibal Ibarra said the emergency exits appeared to be shut" so that people wouldn't enter without paying. "Hospital lists showed most of the victims were in their teens and 20s, but rescue workers discovered at least a dozen children in the club. Some fans had brought their babies, including an 11-month-old, to a makeshift nursery in the women's bathroom, witnesses said. Most of the victims died from smoke inhalation. "The problem was the thick black smoke. You couldn't see where the exits were. There were only two tiny doors and it was impossible for everybody to escape," one survivor told local television. Officials called the fire one of Argentina's worst disasters and Pope John Paul II sent his condolences to the victims' families in a letter to church authorities.
SEARCH FOR MISSING RELATIVES
Argentines awoke on New Year's Eve to scenes of horror on television: bodies lined up on the sidewalk, parents wailing and fainting and others running in frantic search for loved ones. Dazed survivors, blackened by soot,sat sobbing on the sidewalk outside the club or in hospitals. "I want to go identify all the corpses there are, wherever they are. I need to know where my granddaughter is," said a crying woman searching for 19-year-old Marianela Rojas. But the panic and shock quickly turned to anger. Relatives attacked the mayor for not enforcing safety standards and demanded the club owner be arrested. Fireworks are sold on streets all over Latin America for the New Year holiday festivities with little regulation. A flare fired a week ago in the same club caused a small fire that was quickly extinguished, barman Gustavo Albornoz told local television. Before the concert, the rock band playing at the club had warned the crowd not to shoot flares because of the fire hazard, the mayor said. But during the first song, an hour before midnight on Thursday, a group fired a flare, turning the venue into an inferno. The whereabouts of the club owner was unknown. The fire, which authorities said was extinguished quickly, was the worst in the Americas since a supermarket fire in neighbouring Paraguay in August killed nearly 400 people. A similar blaze in the United States in February 2003 killed 100 people when a pyrotechnics display at a Rhode Island nightclub ignited sound-proofing
Buenos Aires club inferno kills 175. Sat 1 Jan, 2005 6:52:10 GMT By Mary Milliken
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) -A flare thrown from the audience ignited a packed Buenos Aires rock club where locked exit doors trapped young New Year's revellers in smoke and flames, killing 175 people, officials have said. Children and babies were among the victims in Thursday night's blaze, which injured at least 714 people. The flare sent burning debris and black smoke into a crowd of roughly 4,000 concert-goers. "The fire spread in a minute and we were a mountain of people trying to escape," said survivor Ariel Monges,25, who lost a cousin and was searching for a friend at a hospital. Buenos Aires Mayor Anibal Ibarra said the tragedy was made worse by the owner's decision to lock a truck-sized emergency exit to keep people from sneaking into the club without paying. "Because of greed, a lot people who could have been saved lost their lives," Ibarra said. Police said they arrested the club's owner, Omar Chaban, a well-known promoter of the capital's underground rock scene who fled his club in the gritty working-class Once district. City Hall said the Cromagnon Republic club had a permit for 1,100 people, but it did not know how many were at the concert. Local media estimated the crowd at between 4,000 and 6,000."They were condemned to walk into a trap," said Interior Minister Anibal
Fernandez after inspectors found four of the six doors were tied shut with wire or padlocks. Hospital lists showed most of the victims were in their teens and 20s.Some fans had brought their children to a makeshift nursery in the women's bathroom or held babies on their laps during the concert, witnesses said. "There was black smoke every where. People started pushing and we all fell down. You had to drag yourself along the floor but people fell on top of each other," said Gaston, 22, a survivor who was looking for friends in the
morgue. Most of the victims died from smoke inhalation after a group fired a flare into the ceiling at 11 p.m., igniting sound
proofing and turning the venue into an inferno. Officials said 102 of the injured were critical.
'GIVE US THE KIDS'
The government declared three days of mourning and ordered nightclubs in he capital closed on New Year's Eve. President Nestor Kirchner, on vacation in Patagonia, said through his spokesman that he was "very sad and distressed," while Pope John Paul II
sent his condolences to the victims' families in a letter to Church authorities. Argentines awoke on New Year's Eve to scenes of horror on television: bodies lined up on the sidewalk, parents wailing and fainting and others frantically searching for loved ones. Dazed survivors, blackened by soot, sat sobbing on the sidewalk outside the club or in hospitals. "I'm looking for my 20-year-old brother. I have his picture and I don't know if it will help but I don't know what else to do," said Monica Alegre, sobbing outside the morgue. Nearly 20 hours after the blaze, relatives lost patience in the oppressive summer heat and demanded authorities turn over their
family members' bodies. But that may take a week. "Give us the kids," shouted one woman at the morgue. "Stop doing autopsies. We already know what happened. "But others wanted more answers about the tragedy, deemed the worst fire in Argentina in decades. "My 10-month-old baby is dead and my wife is missing. Somebody has to take responsibility for what happened to me," said a 30-year-old club security guard named Juan. Fireworks are sold on streets all over Latin America for the New Year festivities with little regulation. A flare fired a week ago in the same club caused a small fire that was quickly extinguished, barman Gustavo Albornoz told local television. Before the concert, the band playing at the club had warned the crowd not to shoot flares, the mayor said. A similar blaze in the United States in February 2003 killed 100 people when a pyrotechnics display at a Rhode Island set fire to soundproofing material.
Man arrested over deadly Argentine fire. Sat 1 Jan, 2005 11:04:44 GMT By Mary Milliken
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) - Police in Argentina say they have arrested the owner of a Buenos Aires nightclub where 175 people were killed in a fire. A flare thrown from the audience ignited the packed rock club where locked exit doors trapped young New Year's revellers in smoke and flames, officials said. Children and babies were among the victims in Thursday night's blaze, which injured at least 714 people. The flare sent burning debris and black smoke into a crowd of roughly 4,000 concert-goers. "The fire spread in a minute and we were a mountain of people trying to escape," said survivor Ariel Monges,25, who lost a cousin and was searching for a friend at a hospital. Buenos Aires Mayor Anibal Ibarra said the tragedy was made worse by the owner's decision to lock a truck-sized emergency exit to keep people from sneaking into the club without paying. "Because of greed, a lot people who could have been saved lost their lives," Ibarra said. Police said they arrested the club's owner, Omar Chaban, a well-known promoter of the capital's underground rock scene who fled his club in the gritty working-class Once district. City Hall said the Cromagnon Republic club had a permit for 1,100 people, but it did not know how many were at the concert. Local media estimated the crowd at between 4,000 and6,000."They were condemned to walk into a trap," said Interior Minister Anibal Fernandez after inspectors found four of the six doors were tied shut with wire or padlocks. Hospital lists showed most of the victims were in their teens and 20s.Some fans had brought their children to a makeshift nursery in the women's bathroom or held babies on their laps during the concert, witnesses said." There was black smoke everywhere. People started pushing and we all fell down. You had to drag yourself along the floor but people fell on top of each other," said Gaston, 22, a survivor who was looking for friends in the morgue. Most of the victims died from smoke inhalation after a group fired a flare into the ceiling at 11 p.m., igniting soundproofing and turning the venue into an inferno. Officials said 102 of the injured were critical.
'GIVE US THE KIDS'
The government declared three days of mourning and ordered nightclubs in the capital closed on New Year's Eve. President Nestor Kirchner, on vacation in Patagonia, said through his spokesman that he was "very sad and distressed," while Pope John Paul II sent his condolences to the victims 'families in a letter to Church authorities. Argentines awoke on New Year's Eve to scenes of horror on television: bodies lined up on the sidewalk, parents wailing and fainting and others frantically searching for loved ones. Dazed survivors, blackened by soot, sat sobbing on the sidewalk outside the club or in hospitals. "I'm looking for my 20-year-oldbrother. I have his picture and I don't know if it will help but I don't know what else to do," said Monica Alegre, sobbing outside the morgue. Nearly 20 hours after the blaze, relatives lost patience in the oppressive summer heat and demanded authorities turn over their family members' bodies. But that may take a week. "Give us the kids," shouted one woman at the morgue. "Stop doing autopsies. We already know what happened. "But others wanted more answers about the tragedy, deemed the worst fire in Argentina in decades. "My 10-month-old baby is dead and my wife is missing. Somebody has to take responsibility for what happened to me," said a 30-year-old club security guard named Juan. Fireworks are sold on streets all over Latin America for the New Year festivities with little regulation. A flare fired a week ago in the same club caused a small fire that was quickly extinguished, barman Gustavo Albornoz told local television. Before the concert, the band playing at the club had warned the crowd not to shoot flares, the mayor said. A similar blaze in the United States in February 2003 killed 100 people when a pyrotechnics display at a Rhode Island set fire to sound proofing material.
Argentina buries club fire victims Sun 2 Jan, 2005 4:23:03 GMT By Mary Milliken and Juana Casas
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) -Argentina has rung in the New Year on a grim note as families identify and begin burying 177 victims of a fire in a Buenos Aires rock club, including children and babies who may have perished in a makeshift nursery in the bathroom. New Years' celebrations were muted on Saturday as the government began handing over bodies to families with the order that they be buried, not cremated, due to the criminal investigation into one of Argentina's worst disasters. The blaze during a concert on Thursday night started when concert-goers launched a flare that ignited foam on the ceiling. The fire sent some 4,000 mostly teenage fans scrambling for the exits amid falling debris and thick smoke. Four of the six doors were locked, officials said. The city's medical emergency servicer aised the death toll by three to 177 at nightfall on Saturday and said 726people had been treated in hospitals, mostly for smoke inhalation. Forty-five people were still in intensive care in public hospitals. Police detained the owner of the Cromagnon Republic club on Friday and sought his three partners to question them about overcrowding, the use of flammable materials and locking the exit doors to stop people from entering without paying. The club had a permit for 1,100spectators.Officials are also looking into witness statements that the club had a nursery in the women's bathroom where parents could leave children while they attended the concert. "How could they permit such a thing?" Marcelo Calderon asked as he waited outside the morgue for the bodies of his brother and nephew. Police said witnesses have also helped them identify three youths who might have launched the flare. It was not known if they were among the victims. In addition to declaring three days of mourning, Mayor Anibal Ibarra announced on Saturday a ban on live music in clubs and the closure of all nightclubs for the next 15 days while officials consider safety measures.
PROTEST AGAINST MAYOR
Several hundred protesters marched on City Hall and said Ibarra was responsible for allowing the club to operate in dangerous conditions. They said they would march again on Monday. "The first person responsible is the mayor," shouted one woman. Before nightfall, nearly two days after he blaze, another 100 people protested outside the main morgue demanding bodies be handed over to families. Relatives spent the sweltering summer day filing into two morgues to identify and claim bodies. The process has been held up by mandatory autopsies and the fact that many of the dead teens lacked identification. Meanwhile, Argentines of all ages went to the club in the working-class district of Once to leave flowers and candles among the piles of tennis shoes and backpacks that belonged to victims. Someone stencilled signs saying "justice for the kids of rock." Hayde Rovellia, an orderly at the closest hospital to the club, said these had been the worst days in her 20years at the hospital. "The young kids, the babies, it's just horrible," she said. Some said the tragedy came as no surprise. The underground rock band playing at Cromagnon, Callejeros, had a following of adolescents who often set off fireworks at their concerts. Moments before the concert began, the singer asked the crowd not to launch any flares because of the fire hazard. He and other band members lost family and friends in the blaze.
Argentines protest after deadly club fire Mon 3 Jan, 2005 4:47:10 GMT By Mary Milliken and Juana Casas
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) -Protests by families and friends of the more than 180 victims of a deadly blaze at a rock club have mounted over complaints that authorities let it operate with locked emergency doors, inflammable soundproofing and dangerous overcrowding. Three days after a flare ignited the ceiling of the Cromagnon Republic during a concert, the death toll rose by five to 182 on Sunday, adding to pressure on Buenos Aires City Hall to account for its role in one of Argentina's worst disasters. More than 260 of the 726 injured remain hospitalized, 117 of them in intensive care, the director of the city's emergency medical services, Julio Salinas, told Reuters. Although most of the victims were teenagers, some were children and babies because the club allowed a makeshift child-care centre to operate in the women's bathroom, witnesses told police. Late on Saturday, protests that began with a few hundred swelled as the march went to City Hall where people chanted "Justice, justice, justice" and called for the resignation of Mayor Anibal Ibarra. "The government of Buenos Aires is accused of lax regulations -- and maybe even corruption -- for allowing these death traps to exist," Ricardo Kirschbaum, editor-in-chief of the top selling daily Clarin, wrote in Sunday's paper. The club had a permit for 1,100 spectators, but an estimated 4,000 were at the concert on Thursday. The last complete inspection of the club was in 2003, officials said. City security secretary Juan Carlos Lopez, in charge of inspections of public venues, accepted his responsibility in the tragedy and resigned late Saturday to become the first political victim of the fire.
LOCKED EMERGENCY EXIT BLAMED
"There was an emergency exit the size of a truck and if it had been open we would have some injured but not this stupid tragedy," Lopez told local radio on Sunday. Most of the victims died of smoke inhalation, but some of the casualties suffered burns and injuries in the stampede. Ibarra has closed all clubs for 15 days and banned live concerts in them indefinitely. Protest organizers have asked Buenos Aires residents to show their anger later on Sunday by banging pots and pans, a popular protest method that became famous during Argentina's economic and political crisis three years ago. More marches are planned for Monday and Thursday nights. The club owner, Omar Chaban, is in police custody and goes before a judge for questioning on Monday. Hefaces possible charges of manslaughter. The search for his three partners continues. Police are also trying to find the three youths who witnesses say launched the flare despite appeals from the band's lead singer to not set off any fireworks, a common practice among Callejeros' fans. Officials said they had concluded all the autopsies after families protested Saturday the slow process to turnover bodies. Four had yet to be identified and claimed by families. Due to the criminal investigation, families are ordered to bury rather than cremate the bodies. More than 50 burials were scheduled in the city's two main cemeteries in sweltering summer temperatures.
Thousands protest over fatal Buenos Aires fire Tue 4 Jan, 2005 1:41:22 GMT By Mary Milliken
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) -Thousands of Argentines mourning almost 200 young victims of a rock club fire have taken to the streets of Buenos Aires in angry protest over the government's safety standards, as the city mayor resisted pressure to resign. Four days ago a blaze and toxic smoke turned the Republica Cromagnon club into a death trap, killing 183. Overcrowding and locked emergency exits pushed up the death toll. Families and friends of the victims, most of whom were teenagers or in their twenties, have accused the government of turning a blind eye to hazardous clubs and demanded the resignation of mayor Anibal Ibarra. The anger also spilled over to President Nestor Kirchner, criticized for his silence in the tragedy while resting in Patagonia. Kirchner responded on Monday, saying the tragedy was "too big and too terrible to be adding declarations or exhibitionist gestures. "Thousands of protesters marched from the Cromagnon club to city hall, led by a row of teenage boys with tears streaming down their faces and carrying a banner demanding "justice" for friends who died. Many hung photographs of the victims around their necks. "We're marching for the resignation of Ibarra and jail for all those responsible, especially the inspectors and the owner of the club," said Alejandra Figliola, whose 16-year-oldson died in the fire.
FATHER SETS HIMSELF ON FIRE
The father of one of the victims set himself on fire during the protest but others quickly doused the flames, according to local television. Television showed the man lying unconscious on the ground with burns to his upper torso and face before being carried to an ambulance. His condition was not immediately known. Distraught relatives screamed insults and shook their fists in front of city hall as the crowd chanted "murderers, murderers!" -- referring to Ibarra and the club owner, Omar Chaban. "Here in Argentina, everything is taken care of with a bribe, and then our children die," Figliola said, who like many others suspects Chaban had obtained a license by bribing officials. Police have detained Chaban for questioning. Ibarra told reporters the club had provided all the legal documents needed to obtain a permit in mid-2004, before installing the highly flammable soundproofing material blamed for many of the deaths because of poisonous fumes. Clarin newspaper cited an eyewitness as saying a child sitting on his father's shoulders had tossed a flare into the ceiling, starting the fire which caused burning debris to fall onto the crowd. Ibarra said many lives would have been spared if the exit doors had not been locked. The club had a permit for 1,100 people, but witnesses have said some 4,000 were packed inside. Some 266 people injured in the fire are still in hospitals, about half in critical condition.
Argentines demand justice after deadly club fire Fri 7 Jan, 2005 2:51:50 GMT By Louis Egan
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) -A week after a fire killed nearly 200people in a Buenos Aires rock club that had locked its emergency exits, mourners held their biggest protest yet as pressure mounted for the mayor to resign. Some 6,000 people, including angry young rock fans and middle-aged parents, gathered late Thursday outside the club hit by fire on December 30 after a fan shot fireworks into the highly flammable ceiling. Friends and families of the victims lit candles, waved banners and photographs of the dead, shouting" corruption killed our children as they linked arms in a march to city hall in sweltering summer heat. A small group clashed with police, who moved in to control the crowd in front of city hall. Several people were arrested and some were injured in the scuffles, local television reported. The protesters demanded that Mayor Anibal Ibarra resign for failing to enforce safety standards and they want the club owner, Omar Chaban, jailed. He is already under arrest. "We're fed up with corruption," said Lirta Marino, whose 22-year-old niece Yamila died in the fire. Like thousands of Argentines, she accused government inspectors of taking bribes in exchange for turning a blind eye to safety hazards. A group of teen-age boys, many with tattoos and wearing rock 'n roll T-shirts, jumped up and down screaming insults at Ibarra. One elderly man walked silently looking at the ground and holding up a photograph of a baby. Several children and babies were among the victims." Ibarra, Chaban, we will make you pay for what you did," one young protester spray-painted on a government building. Ibarra, an ally of Argentine President Nestor Kirchner, has vowed he will not quit. The death toll rose to 188 from 187on Thursday after a teen-age boy died from his wounds. Over 700 were injured in the blaze and 237 remain hospitalized.