16 charged in connection with Brazil nightclub fire
Sixteen people have been charged in connection with the nightclub fire in Brazil that killed 241 people.
Firefighters, onlookers and police officers surround Kiss nightclub after the fire broke out Photo: EPA
By Donna Bowater, Rio de Janeiro
8:34PM GMT 22 Mar 2013
Nine – including two co-owners of Kiss nightclub in the university town of Santa Maria in Santa Catarina – face murder charges over the fatalities caused by the third worst fire of its kind on record.
More than 230 people died at the scene or in the hours afterwards when a flare allegedly set the club's sound-proofing foam alight, tearing through the venue. Several other victims have since died in hospital.
Firefighters try to put out the fire
As well as business partners and club owners Elissandro Spohr and Mauro Hoffman, two members of the band allegedly responsible for lighting the flare have been charged.
Spohr's mother and sister, the club's manager and two fire inspectors were also indicted with intentional homicide.
If convicted, they face between six and 20 years in prison.
Nightclub owner Ellisandro Spohr
According to Brazilian website G1, Marcelo Arigony, regional delegate of Santa Maria, said: "There is no denying the nightclub fire started with a flare from the band."
Releasing the results of the police inquiry, officers said there were seven additional charges relating to the fire, four for manslaughter, two for procedural fraud and one for perjury.
Experts confirmed that all 241 deaths were caused by asphyxiation as a result of carbon monoxide and cyanide poisoning.
The police investigation took 55 days and included evidence from more than 800 witnesses, 84 of whom said security staff at the club had initially blocked the exit when the fire started.
Police also said five people died after trying to rescue others.
