Arrests made in Brazil nightclub fire that killed over 230 people
By JULIANA BARBASSA Associated Press January 28, 2013 8:10AM
A woman cries over the coffin of a victim at a gymnasium where bodies were brought for identification in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. Flames raced through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, killing more than 230 people as panicked partygoers gasped for breath in the smoke-filled air, stampeding toward a single exit partially blocked by those already dead. (AP Photo/Nabor Goulart)
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Updated: January 28, 2013 9:25AM
SANTA MARIA, Brazil — Brazilian police say they’ve made three arrests and are seeking a fourth person in connection with a nightclub fire that killed more than 230 people.
Inspector Ranolfo Vieira Junior said at a Monday press conference that the arrests are for investigative purposes. He says the detentions have five-day limits.
He declined to identify those arrested or the fourth person sought.
More than 230 people died early Sunday during the fire at a university party in southern Brazil. Police have said they think a band’s pyrotechnics show ignited sound insulation on the ceiling, causing the blaze.
The Zero Hora newspaper quotes lawyer Jader Marques as saying his client Elissandro Spohr, a co-owner of the club, was arrested. The paper also says two band members were arrested.
Funerals began Monday in the city of Santa Maria, Brazil, where the blaze took place.
