World

Search For Cause Of Mexico Fire

October 20, 2000 / 2:25 PM EDT / AP

A short-circuit in the sound booth may have sparked a deadly blaze at a popular Mexico City nightclub.

Flames engulfed one of the city's most popular nightclubs, which was often frequented by international celebrities, killing 19 people Friday as the panicked crowd forced their way through the only exit. At least 24 people were injured.

Police are saying the fire may have been electrical in nature. Firefighters say witnesses reported hearing several explosions.

Authorities say the club had numerous safety violations, including no emergency exits. The nightclub also was bigger than allowed by law.

They say the club had been shut down eleven times for code violations, but the owners always managed to reopen. The last time police tried to shut down the club, in May, security guards used guns and dogs to keep officers at bay.

What's more, Lorena Falcon Perez said her daughters-in-law told her that when smoke started filling the disco that security guards at the front door wouldn't let the people leave unless they had their ticket showing they had paid their bill.

"My daughters-in-law told them, 'Hey, hey it's burning!' But the guards said no you can't leave without your ticket," Perez told the national TV news show Metropolis. "One of my daughters-in-law lost her shoe running around trying to find an emergency exit, but there wasn't one."

The guards eventually let the women leave, but Perez's 16-year-old daughter wasn't so lucky. Rescue crews later carried her out of the building as chunks of burning wood fell to the ground. She suffered third-degree burns and was in critical condition at a local hospital.

"When the doctors told me about my daughter, I fainted," Perez said. "It's not right what those (owners of the disco) did. A place that has events like this, should at least be safe."

Hours after the tragedy, hundreds milled outside the charred building, its mirrored facade shattered and blackened with smoke. Its trademark face of a cartoon dog was completely consumed by the fire.

One of the onlookers, Carlos Millan, 22, said he went to the disco at least twice a week. Standing outside the burned building and dressed in black clothes and sunglasses, Millan said he left the disco hours before the fire broke out and couldn't believe it when he heard the news.

"A lot of people come here, it's really safe," he said.

The fire broke out after 5 a.m. Police said a short circuit in the sound booth may have caused it. The blaze was extinguished before dawn.

Police and firefighters blocked off traffic on the busy Insurgentes avenue in both directions in front of the nightclub, which is located near the intersection with another major thoroughfare, the Paseo de la Reforma.

While the club normally closes at 4 a.m., local radio stations said some clients were just leaving as the fire broke out.

Authorities said in addition to not having emergency exits, the club also was i violation for operating with a permit for a restaurant rather than a night club. And its 4,700 feet surpassed the maximum size limit permitted under the law.

Maria Inez Munoz, spokeswoman for the Cuauhtemoc borough in which the nightclub is located, said city officials had repeatedly clashed in the courts with the club's owner.

She said that earlier this year officials ordered the club closed because it lacked a permit for table dancing, but that the owner had obtained a federal court injunction to remain open.

She said it was "a place with many problems."

A local representative, Dolores Padierna, said the club had been closed 11 times for code violations, but the owners negotiated its reopening each time.

Irineo Varela, one of the neighbors of the disco, said the last time authorities tried to shut down the club in May, "security police came out with dogs and armed, and did not allow access to the place."

The allegations were disputed by Victor Trejo Sanchez, attorney for club owner Alejandro Iglesias Rebollo, who told the Radio Red network that city officials had inspected and approved the club in June.

The owners could not be immediately reached for comment.

According to the National Association of Discos and Bars, 15,000 establishments are in violation of the minimum operating norms in Mexico. The violations range from closing long after the set hours of operation to allowing prostitution and drugs.