At least 232 killed in Brazilian night club fire

Porto Alegre, Brazil - At least 232 people died early Sunday in a fire at a night club in southern Brazil, according to the fire department,mid fears the death toll could climb higher.

Rescue teams had completed the effort to recover bodies from the popular Kiss night club in the town of Santa Maria. They were still working at the site to establish the cause of the fire.

A total of 131 people were injured and admitted to hospital, said Major Cleberson Bastianello, who was leading rescue efforts. Most of those killed died of asphyxiation.

Police had earlier put the death toll at 245.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff abruptly cut short her participation in the EU-Latin American summit in Santiago to travel to the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where Santa Maria is located and which is also Rousseff’s home state.

"I wanted to tell the people of our country and of Santa Maria that we are all together at this moment of sadness," she told reporters, with tears in her eyes, before she departed.

"And we will overcome this, though the sadness will remain," she said.

The fire started at around 2:30 am (0530 GMT). Preliminary information suggested it was sparked by a pyrotechnics display during a concert attended largely by students from a nearby university.//DPA