Nightclub Fire in Brazil Kills More than 230

EduAndrade/LatinContent/Getty Images(SANTA MARIA, Brazil) -- Recovery crews in Santa Maria, Brazil, are still sifting through the burnt remains of the Kiss nightclub that caught fire early Sunday, leaving at least 233 people dead and more than 100 injured.

Most of those killed were either trampled to death or died from smoke inhalation as they tried to leave through the one working exit of the club.

Firefighters attempted to break holes in the walls to free victims at the club, which was said to be filled to its capacity of between 1,000 and 2,000 people.

Authorities in Santa Maria, a college town in southern Brazil, said preliminary evidence indicated the fire was started when a member of the band shot off a flare gun into the ceiling, which caused the fire to quickly spread.

The tragedy was reminiscent of a fire at The Station nightclub in Warwick, R.I., 10 years ago when a pyrotechnics display used by the band Great White sparked a blaze that quickly went out of control, causing a panic that left 100 people dead.

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