Death Toll Passes 250 in Lima Fireworks Blaze
LIMA, Peru — Firefighters dug through the rubble of a massive blaze sparked by a fireworks explosion in downtown Lima on Sunday, retrieving more than 250 bodies by nightfall. Officials were trying to learn what caused the disaster.
Propelled by exploding fireworks at dozens of sidewalk stands, a wall of fire raced across four blocks Saturday night, trapping shoppers and street vendors.
There was little hope of finding survivors inside the burned-out buildings, where temperatures exceeded 1,100 degrees at the height of the fire.
By nightfall, Doris Sanchez, a Cabinet minister for women’s issues, said the official death toll was 276. But Col. Ruben Ibanez, of Peru’s civil defense agency, later put the confirmed figure at 256.
Lima Fire Chief Tulio Nicolini had said the blaze appeared to have started in a warehouse filled with fireworks. But several witnesses said it began when a firecracker exploded in an area spilling over with stands selling fireworks.
President Alejandro Toledo declared Sunday and today national days of mourning and announced an immediate ban on fireworks.
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