Sao Paulo, Brazil -- A fire swept through a popular nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, killing at least 245 people, state media reported, citing police. The death toll was expected to climb as firefighters continued to pull bodies from the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, said Col. Adilomar Silva, the regional coordinator of civil defense.
Most of those killed appeared to have died of smoke inhalation, Silva said. Hundreds are believed to have been injured, though an exact count was not immediately available. Many people were trampled in the panic to leave the club, one security guard tell us The fire started "from out of nowhere" on a stage at the club and quickly spread to the ceiling, witness Jairo Vieira told Band News.
