Brazil: An investigation has begun into a fire that killed 242 people at a nightclub

The inquest into the tragic fire at a nightclub that killed 242 people in Brazil opened Wednesday in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, almost nine years after the disaster.

Survivors and relatives of the victims continue to demand justice after the tragedy that struck the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, one of the country’s worst fires, at dawn on January 27, 2013.

Four defendants are appearing in Porto Alegre court, the latter said: two entrepreneurs and two musicians from the group that played that evening were charged with killing 242 people and attempting to kill 636 wounded. Popular Arbitration Forum.

During a college dinner that night, a member of a group of musicians set fire to a pyrotechnic device that was normally set outside, setting fire to the roof of the nightclub and trapping thousands of young people.

Many of them died of suffocation from toxic fumes as the room turned into a torch. Both musicians escaped from the disco just in time without warning the young audience, although they had a sound system.

The investigation revealed that the shut-off devices were not working, the boards were faulty and only two doors allowed the crowd to exit.

The court said Judge Orlando Facini Neto and a seven-member jury are set to hear the testimonies of 14 survivors and 19 other witnesses and four defendants.

Considered a historic landmark for Brazilian justice, the case will be televised live and will last for two weeks.

According to local media, the defense hopes that the accused will be sentenced to about 15 years in prison.

All four defendants were detained after the disaster before being released a few months later.

The trial was diverted and the judge decided in 2020 to arrange it far away from Santa Maria to guarantee the impartiality of the discussions.

The Association of Relatives of Victims and Survivors of Santa Maria raised funds on social media to travel to Porto Alegre, 300 km away, to attend the much-anticipated trial.