Supermarket death toll tops 200, TV reports

ASUNCION, Paraguay — Fire roared through a supermarket on the outskirts of the Paraguayan capital Sunday, and a television report said more than 200 people died and dozens were injured.

The fire broke out at the Ycua Bolanos supermarket while it was crowded with Sunday midday shoppers.

Paraguay’s Channel 9 reported that 217 bodies had been recovered, citing rescue workers and police accounts. The government had no official toll of deaths and injuries hours after the fire erupted.

Officials were still trying to determine the cause of the fire.

Fears of a major tragedy prompted President Nicanor Duarte to visit the scene.

"This is a moment of great anguish," Duarte said. "I’ve come here to provide support to the injured and the families of the deceased," he said.

Badly burned bodies could be seen as they were taken away after the fire in a scene of confusion as firefighters scrambled through smoking, charred debris.

Television footage showed several levels of the multi-level supermarket covered in soot, including a lower level parking garage. The supermarket is part of a shopping complex located in an Asuncion suburb.

One woman, her face covered with soot, sobbed as she was carried away on the shoulders of a rescue worker. Firefighters battled through smoke to get inside the market and carried other victims out one by one.

Interior Minister Orlando Fiorotto ordered off-duty police and firefighters to the scene and urged hospitals to prepare for the injured.

Hundreds of rescue workers, bystanders and relatives stood outside the shopping complex. Brown smoke still hung in the air above the supermarket hours afterward.

Public Health Minister Julio Cesar Velazquez told reporters, "I have never seen a disaster like this. The firefighters were taking out, as best as they could, the bodies, the injured and people suffering from smoke inhalation. It’s horrible."

Cabral, the police commander, said an explosion was reportedly heard before the fire swept through the building, causing at least one floor to collapse.

"There was an explosion inside and the heat forced the bottom floor supporting the basement to give way crushing dozens of people," he said.

Francisco Barrios, a man who was shopping in the store but managed to get out after the fire, described a confusing scene minutes after the fire started with people rushing for the doors.

"There were sparks as if fireworks were going off. The store quickly caught fire and filled with smoke, triggering total confusion," he said, crying. "I lost my wife and kids as I rushed to get out. Now I’m desperately trying to find them." (AP)

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/08/01/supermarket.blast.ap/index.html