Death Toll of Lima Fireworks Explosion Rises to 276

Firefighters on Sunday dug through the rubble of a massive blaze sparked by a fireworks explosion in historic downtown Lima, retrieving 276 bodies by the afternoon. Officials were trying to learn what sparked the disaster.

Propelled by exploding fireworks at dozens of sidewalk stands, a wall of fire raced across four blocks Saturday night, trapping holiday shoppers and street vendors who had jammed the narrow streets lined with shops and aging apartment buildings.

There was little hope of finding survivors inside the burned-out buildings, where temperatures exceeded 1,100 degrees at the height of the fire. The body count mounted through the day as firefighters made their way into cavernous tenements to search through debris.

Lima Fire Chief Tulio Nicolini initially 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.

At least 122 people, including children, were found dead in the streets after the towering blaze raced down the streets, accompanied by the machinegun-like explosions of fireworks from the stands that clogged the sidewalks. Many of the victims were trapped between two walls of fire and had nowhere to run.

Dozens more were discovered in the rubble of fire-gutted buildings, bringing the total number of recovered bodies to 240 by midafternoon, said Juan Luis Podesta, Peru's civil defense chief. "The figure could increase. How high, I don't know at this moment."

Firefighters going through the rubble of fire-gutted buildings Sunday continued to find more and more bodies. By nightfall, Doris Sanchez, a Cabinet minister in charge of women's issues, said the official death toll was 276.

At least 144 more were hospitalized with burns.

(Xinhua News Agency december31, 2001)