Toll in Brazil nightclub fire rises to 235

Toll in Brazil nightclub fire rises to 235

The death toll in a nightclub fire in southern Brazil rose to 235 after a 21-year-old man died from severe burns, DPA reported.

The man died Tuesday evening in hospital in Porto Alegre, the health ministry in Rio Grande do Sul state said. His brother also died in Sunday's fire in the Kiss nightclub in the university city of Santa Maria, 300 kilometres west of Porto Allegre.

More than 100 people injured in the fire were still in hospital.

The latest death occurred after a silent march was held in Santa Maria to honour the victims. About 30,000 turned out, many wearing white and shouting, "Justice!"

Four people - the two club owners, a singer with the band Gurizada Fandangueira, which allegedly used pyrotechnics that caused the fire, and a member of the band's security personnel - have been arrested.

Police told the Brazilian news website G1 that four factors made the fire so deadly: the club having only one exit, the use of pyrotechnics inside a closed space, overcrowding and foam on the roof that caught fire and produced particularly poisonous smoke.