245 DEAD IN NIGHTCLUB INFERNO

At least 245 die in Brazilian nightclub fire 'after indoor fireworks display during band performance'

Death toll still unknown and may be higher as more bodies are pulled from wreckage while hundreds more are expected to be injured

Official cause unknown, but reports claim it was caused by a firework during a band performance

Video shows dramatic scenes of people trying to rescue people from the club, using axes to smash through an outer wall

PUBLISHED: 07:49 EST, 27 January 2013 | UPDATED: 10:53 EST, 27 January 2013

At least 245 people have been killed in a Brazil nightclub after a fire ravaged through the building in the early hours of this morning.

Initial reports were that 90 people perished in the blaze, but the death toll has steadily been rising as more bodies have been found in the packed nightclub.

While the official cause of the blaze has not been stated, local reports claim it was sparked by a firework set off during a band's performance.

Appalling loss of life: Firefighters work to douse a fire at the Kiss Club in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, where hundreds of people died

People run to safety and try to rescue others after a massive inferno tore through a Brazil nightclub in the early hours of this morning killing at least 245 people

The total number of victims is still unknown and there may be hundreds injured, civil police and regional government spokesman Marcelo Arigoni told Radio Gaucha.

He told the radio a truck carrying 70 bodies had arrived at the Municipal Sports Centre, which was being used as an improvised morgue.

Police believe there are about 20 bodies still inside the club. At least 200 people have been injured, they said.

Firefighters battle to put out the fire which tore through the Kiss Club in Santa Maria, southern Brazil

Emergency services say they feared at least 20 more bodies remained inside the building, and hundreds of others were injured

WARNING: CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES OF DEAD BODIES

Rescue: Emergency services filled the street outside the club's entrance as more bodies were pulled from the charred building

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