Argentinians march over nightclub fire deaths

Relatives of the victims of a nightclub fire that killed 188 people led thousands of Argentines in a march last night to protest…

Relatives of the victims of a nightclub fire that killed 188 people led thousands of Argentines in a march last night to protest safety lapses blamed for the country's worst fire disaster in decades.

The demonstration was the fourth since the fire that also injured more than 700 people.

Clutching photos of the victims, relatives were joined by about 7,000 others - many teenagers wearing black bands on their shirts - in an outpouring of anger and grief directed at city officials and the club's owner.

One woman, Amelia Ramella, held a photo of her 15-year-old daughter, Gabriela, who died in the blaze. "The pain I feel will never heal," she said.

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On Monday, about 4,000 people demonstrated in the streets, demanding Buenos Aires Mayor Anibal Ibarra and key city officials resign and calling for new citywide safety standards for all nightclubs.

Ibarra has ordered all city clubs closed for two weeks of safety inspections and banned indoor concerts indefinitely; his public security chief, Juan Carlos Lopez, has resigned. The club's owner, Omar Chaban, was arrested over the weekend.

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. Argentine media reports said crumpled bodies were found in a pile near one blocked exit.