BRAZIL: Two days after the nightclub fire that killed 234 people in the southern Brazilian town of Santa Maria, survivors recount the chaos

Record ID: 702617

  • Title: BRAZIL: Two days after the nightclub fire that killed 234 people in the southern Brazilian town of Santa Maria, survivors recount the chaos
  • Date: 29th January 2013
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF RANDREI FAGUNDES, WHO ESCAPED THE FIRE WITH MINOR INJURIES, TALKING TO REPORTERS OUTSIDE THE HOSPITAL (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) NIGHTCLUB FIRE SURVIVOR, RANDREI FANGUNDES, SAYING: "I wasn't able to help anyone because I thought I had broken my arm, when I fell trying to escape. When I arrived at the hospital that's when I was able to help the people who kept coming in a much worse condition. I went there to be treated but when I realized what was happening, I wasn't even seen by anyone and just tried to help the injured that kept coming in."
  • Embargoed: 13th February 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Brazil
  • Country: Brazil
  • Topics: Accidents
  • Reuters ID: LVAD5874FFSXUX623HH53LR7660A
  • Story Text: Two days after 234 people died in a nightclub fire, in the southern Brazilian town of Santa Maria, survivors and their families were struggling to deal with the impact of the tragedy.
    Dozens who managed to escape the Kiss nightclub alive in the early hours of Sunday (January 27), are still fighting for their lives in Santa Maria's main hospital.
    Janice Moreira's daughter is in critical condition.

    "She is in an induced coma. Doctors will take the tubes out in a few days and see how she reacts, but she's doing much better. I went through a terrible time. I lost my son-in-law, her husband. He went in to save her, ended up trapped inside, and passed away," Moreira said.
    Architecture student Alisson Jeacoleto, who lives next door to the Kiss nightclub, tried to help as the fire spread.
    Jeacoleto said he inhaled smoke in the process and was still trying to come to terms with Sunday's events.

    "At the time there wasn't any time to think, I just went on my instincts, I don't know how to explain it. I went in there because I saw how desperate people were, I didn't even know what to do. I don't actually know how to explain it," he said.
    Others, however, were able to escape relatively unscathed.
    Randrei Fagundes was one of the estimated 1,500 revelers at the Kiss nightclub.

    "I wasn't able to help anyone because I thought I had a broken my arm, when I fell trying to escape. When I arrived at the hospital that's when I was able to help the people who kept coming in a much worst condition. I went there to be treated but when I realized what was happening I wasn't even seen by anyone and just tried to help the injured that kept coming in," he said.
    The Health Secretary of Rio Grande do Sul state has confirmed skin donations are coming from other parts of the country to help in the treatment of the survivors with serious burns.
    The tragedy comes as Brazil prepares to host the 2014 World Cup soccer tournament and 2016 Olympics, putting its safety standards and emergency response capabilities in the international spotlight.
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