The night that Brazil wants to forget

Val Vita

Brazil cried the loss of 233 lives in the morning of Sunday, January 27. A fire in a crowded night club, named Kiss, in Santa Maria, Southern Brazil, was considered the biggest tragedy in the history of the state – and the second worst tragedy caused by fire in the country. Besides the deaths, more than 120 people are injured.

The police is still investigating what really happened – but survivors told that the cause was a pyrotechnics show performed by a local band. About 2,000 people were inside the club at the time of the accident – the capacity was 1,000. There was only one way out of the club – and 90% of the bodies, police said, was found in the restrooms. Because of the lack of signalization  and the thick smoke caused by the fire, people thought the restrooms were the exit.

The majority of the night clubs in my state, Rio Grande do Sul, where Santa Maria is located, is closed during this week. Parties, concerts, soccer games and all kinds of events were cancelled because of what happened. No parties this week in respect of all the victims and their families.

A few days after the tragedy, people from my state still can’t accept what happened. Santa Maria, like Pittsburg, is a college town, so the majority of the victims is students. Young people who entered the club to have fun and never left it. In that sad Sunday morning, many Brazilians, including me, couldn't avoid the tears while watching the news. All the channels were showing images of the club, destroyed by the fire, or the gymnasium of the town, where the 233 bodies were taken to be identified by the families and friends.

One story, told by a Brazilian journalist, made even the toughest ones cry a little bit. The journalist said he was talking to one of the firefighters who helped after the tragedy. The firefighter found a cellphone ringing incessantly with one of the victims – a girl, who was already dead. On the screen of the phone it said: 104 missed calls – mom.

While hundreds of moms, dads and friends try to understand what happened, the police continue the investigations (four people were already arrested – two owners of the night club and two members of the band). All the clubs in the state are being verified, so a tragedy like this never be repeated.   

(From: The Collegio)