4 charged in deadly Brazil nightclub fire
By Lateef Mungin and Marilia Brocchetto, CNN
April 4, 2013 -- Updated 0122 GMT (0922 HKT)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- The blaze left more than 200 dead
- The club owners and two others were indicted
- The four suspects face homicide charges
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(CNN) -- Prosecutors this week indicted four people connected to a deadly blaze at a Brazilian nightclub that left hundreds dead.
The four suspects now face homicide and attempted homicide charges in connection with the January inferno at the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil, prosecutors said.
The suspects were identified as club owners Elissandro Spohr and Mauro Hoffman, vocalist Marcelo de Jesus dos Santos, and show producer Luciano Bonilha.
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The musicians are accused of using pyrotechnics that they knew were for outdoor use to save money, prosecutors said. The club owners are accused of allowing an overcrowded, dangerous environment that added to the deadly outcome, prosecutors said.
The nightclub was filled well beyond its legal capacity with the crowd of 2,000 people, who packed the club to hear the band play.
When the fire raged the crowd panicked, broke into a stampede, and clogged the club's the only exit.
Authorities have said that at least 235 people died in the blaze and many others were critically injured.
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