US medication for fire victims lands in Brazil
SAO PAULO (AFP) – Some 140 medical kits flown in from the United States arrived in southern Brazil on Saturday to treat survivors of the deadly disco fire who were exposed to dangerous fumes, authorities said.
The medication, called Cyanokit, was requested by the Brazilian health ministry to treat victims of last Sunday’s fire who inhaled cyanide poison after the fire ignited acoustic foam insulation inside the “Kiss” nightclub.
A firefighter takes notes during an inspection at a nightclub in a suburb of Brasilia.AFP
The blaze left 236 people dead in the college town of Santa Maria in Rio Grande do Sul state.
About 20 people have been hospitalised with symptoms of chemical pneumonitis.
Another 123 people were hospitalized for other injuries sustained during the fire, which was ignited by a cheap flare lit by musicians as part of an illegal pyrotechnics display.
The medical kits flown into Santa Maria by a Brazilian Air Force plane were to be delivered to hospitals where survivors are being treated.
US Southern Command said it coordinated the transport of the medication, valued at $97,000, from the United States to Brasilia.
SOUTHCOM is responsible for US military operations in the Caribbean, Central America and South America. Several Santa Maria parishes held services in memory of the fire victims.
In Rio, Archbishop Dom Orani Tempesta also celebrated Mass in their honour at the foot of the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue on Corcovado Mountain.
