'This pain will never heal'
2005-01-07 11:38
Buenos Aires - Relatives of victims of a nightclub fire that killed 188 people led thousands of Argentines in a march to protest safety lapses, which many blame for triggering the country's worst tragedy in decades.
The demonstration was the fourth large-scale protest, since the December 30 inferno, in which more than 700 people were also injured.
The blaze started when a patron launched a flare that lit foam lining on the club's ceiling, producing thick, toxic fumes.
Clutching photos of the victims, family and relatives joined some 7 000 people, many teenagers wearing black bands on their shirts in an outpouring of anger and grief over the blaze and its aftermath.
There have been reports that emergency exits were padlocked or tied shut with wire, turning the Cromagnon Republic nightclub into a trap when the flames broke out during the concert by the local band Los Callejeros.
Key city officials resign
About 4 000 people, mostly teenagers, were packed inside the club, which only had a capacity of 1 500 when the fire broke out.
Reeling from thick smoke, panicked crowds surged toward the doors, trampling each other in desperate efforts to flee. Many of the victims died from smoke inhalation.
Amelia Ramella hoisted a photo of her 15-year-old daughter, Gabriela, who died in the blaze, and accused city officials on Thursday of failing to control security norms at the city's nightclubs.
Ramella said: "The pain I feel will never heal", blaming the nightclub owner and Buenos Aires Mayor Anibal Ibarra for the safety lapses.
On Monday, some 4 000 people demonstrated in the streets, demanding Ibarra and key city officials resign and calling for new citywide reforms for all clubs.
- AP