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A fire swept through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, killing at least 245 people and leaving at least 200 injured, police and firefighters said.

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Army soldiers carry a coffin containing the body of a victim of the fire at Boate Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria, 301 km west of the state capital of Porto Alegre, January 27, 2013.EDISON VARA/Reuters

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A woman cries over the coffin of a victim at a gymnasium where bodies were brought for identification in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013.NABOR GOULART/The Associated Press

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Relatives of victims react in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013.EVANDRO STURM/The Associated Press

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A relative of a victim is comforted in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013.EVANDRO STURM/The Associated Press

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An exterior view of Boate Kiss nightclub is seen after a fire occurred, in the southern city of Santa Maria, 301 km west of the state capital of Porto Alegre, January 27, 2013.EDISON VARA/Reuters

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A man carries an injured man, victim of a fire at the Kiss club in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, early Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. Firefighters say that the death toll from a fire that swept through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil has risen to 180. Officials say the fire broke out while a band was performing. At least 200 people have been injured.Agencia RBS/The Associated Press

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A police officer helps a woman next to Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria, 301 kilometres west of the state capital of Porto Alegre, in this picture taken by Agencia RBS, January 27, 2013. At least 200 people were killed in the nightclub fire in southern Brazil on Sunday after a band's pyrotechnics show set the building ablaze, and fleeing patrons were unable to find the emergency exits, local officials said. Major Gerson da Rosa Ferreira, who was leading rescue efforts at the scene for the military police, said victims died of asphyxiation, or from being trampled. Possibly as many as 500 people were inside the club when the fire broke out at about 2:30 a.m.Germano Roratto/Agencia RBS/Reuters

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A victim of a fire in a club is carried in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, early Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. According to police more than 200 died in the devastating nightclub fire in southern Brazil. Officials say the fire broke out at the Kiss club in the city of Santa Maria while a band was performing. At least 200 people were also injured.Deivid Dutra/Agencia Freelancer/The Associated Press

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People help an injured man, victim of a fire in a club in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. According to police more than 200 died in the devastating nightclub fire in southern Brazil. Officials say the fire broke out at the Kiss club in the city of Santa Maria while a band was performing. At least 200 people were also injured.Agencia RBS/The Associated Press

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Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff (L) speaks, next to an unidentified woman, during a address about a nightclub fire in southern Brazil, at the hotel in Chile January 27, 2013. Ms. Rousseff will cut short a visit to Chile and will be return to Brazil following the blaze, her spokesperson said. Ms. Rousseff is in Chile to attend at the summit of the Community of Latin American, Caribbean States and European Union (CELAC-UE).Roberto Stuckert Filho/Brazil Presidency/Handout/Reuters

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Fire-fighters try to extinguish a fire at Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria, 301 kilometres west of the state capital of Porto Alegre, in this picture taken by Agencia RBS, January 27, 2013. More than 200 people were killed in the nightclub fire in southern Brazil on Sunday after a band's pyrotechnics show set the building ablaze, and fleeing patrons were unable to find the emergency exits, local officials said.Germano Roratto/Agencia RBS/Reuters

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Relatives of the victims of the Kiss nightclub fire cry in the southern city of Santa Maria, 301 kilometres west of the state capital of Porto Alegre, in this picture taken by Agencia RBS, January 27, 2013.Ronald Mendes/Agencia RBS/Reuters

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Relatives of the victims of the Kiss nightclub fire cry in the southern city of Santa Maria, 301 kilometres west of the state capital of Porto Alegre, in this picture taken by Agencia RBS, January 27, 2013.Germano Roratto/Agencia RBS/Reuters

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