Up to 340 dead in supermarket inferno
An exploding gas canister in a food department may have fuelled a fire that killed up to 340 people in a crowded supermarket in Paraguay’s worst disaster in more than half a century.
Hundreds more were injured, many with serious burns, after the blaze swept through the multi-level Ycua Bolanos supermarket on the outskirts of the capital, Asuncion, while it was crowded with Sunday shoppers.
The heat of the blaze caused one floor to collapse, crushing dozens of cars in the car park as flames engulfed the motorists inside, police said.
Bodies were rushed away as black billows of smoke rose overhead. Rescuers led away dozens of children found near the store’s toy department.
“This is a moment of great anguish,” said President Nicanor Duarte, who declared three days of national mourning from today. Classes were also cancelled in Asuncion and people streamed into hospitals and clinics to donate blood.
The government confirmed 256 deaths, but Interior Minister Orlando Fiorotto said officials were still counting bodies.
Paraguay’s Channel 9 reported that 340 bodies had been recovered and that hundreds were injured, citing reports by rescue workers and police.
It was the worst tragedy in Paraguay since a failed military insurrection in 1947 left some 8,000 people dead.
Authorities said they had detained two owners of the supermarket for questioning amid local media reports that some survivors claimed they were unable to open doors as they tried to flee.
A statement released by the management vehemently denied that any doors were shuttered soon after the fire in order to prevent theft.
Police said they were investigating survivor accounts the fire may have been fuelled by an exploding gas canister in the food court area.
Overnight, army troops unloaded truckloads of wooden coffins at makeshift morgues. Tearful relatives filed in early today to identify bodies and funerals were being planned at cemeteries around the capital.
Meanwhile, at hospitals police held back sobbing relatives as the injured, some covered in gold foil blankets, were rushed into emergency rooms on stretchers.
One survivor who identified himself as Victor Catan told Argentina’s TodoNoticias television network, that he lost his wife in the blaze but escaped with his young son by stumbling out in the dark.
“I managed to get out with my son, but my wife didn’t make it,” Catan said, adding he was still searching for her.
Several levels of the multi-level supermarket were covered in soot, including a lower level parking garage where cars were crushed and burned.
