Brazil night club fire kills 232 in Santa Maria

A major blaze at a nightclub in southern Brazilian town of Santa Maria has left at least 180 people dead, the fire broke out at a popular night club, Kiss Club, in the city of Santa Maria, while a band was performing. There were over a 1000 people at the club when fire started at around 2 a.m. 
A stampede ensued immediately as party goers pushed and shoved each other to escape. According to reports in the local media citing police, more than 200 people died of those 500 who were at the club when the blaze broke out.
Emergency workers are still counting the dead and removing the bodies. 
At least 50 other people were injured in the fire, security forces indicated.
The blaze reportedly began when a performing band started a fireworks display. Acoustic insulation caught fire, and thick smoke filled the club, causing many to die from inhaling the toxic fumes.
There was no emergency exit available and people rushed to the only way out of the building in panic, local officials said. Some people died of asphyxiation, others from being trampled, they added.
Firefighters had to use sledgehammers and axes to open up a breach exit in the exterior wall, according to local TV. 
 A police spokesman told a radio station that a truck carrying 70 bodies arrived at the Municipal Sports Center, which they used as an improvised morgue.
The local governor tweeted, “Sad Sunday. We are taking appropriate action and possible. I'll Be in Santa Maria in the late morning.” 
The death toll may be even higher as firefighters continued to pull bodies from the wreckage of the Kiss Club, in Santo Maria, southern Brazil.