Inferno at Rhode Island nightclub kills 95

The death toll from the Rhode Island nightclub fire was expected to pass 100 last night as more bodies were recovered from the charred ruins of the building.

The state governor, Don Carcieri, said the remains of 95 people had been brought from the ruined Station Club. More than 180 people were injured, and 21 of them were in a critical condition.

He said he believed the death toll could easily pass 100 ­ the biggest challenge for rescue workers now being the job of identifying the remains retrieved.

"I'm not satisfied at the rate at which it's going right now,'' Mr Carcieri said. Relatives of those reported missing were gathered last night in a nearby hotel in Warwick, desperate for information about family members. Reports said many of the remains recovered were so badly damaged that identification could be a lengthy and arduous process.

Fire crews, local police and federal agents from the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Agency were working through the wreckage last night, their labours lit up by arc lights.

The inferno started when fireworks used in a heavy metal concert set the one-storey building alight. The club, 15 miles south-east of the state capital, Providence, had been crammed by more than 300 people for a concert by the hard rock band Great White.

Officials said flames and thick smoke consumed the building within three minutes, giving the audience little time to escape. Many thought at first the flames were part of the pyrotechnics and lost vital time before trying to flee. The fire broke out at about 11pm during the first song of the concert.

"It was calm at first, everyone thought it was part of the act," said John DiMeo, who had been sitting at the bar. "It happened so fast." The scenes of panic were captured by a TV reporter filming the concert.

Last weekend, 21 clubbers were killed in a stampede at a Chicago nightspot. That disaster was triggered when security guards released pepper spray, causing a rush for a single exit down steep stairs.

Again, the high death toll yesterday was being blamed on victims herding towards a single exit and jamming a narrow hallway, trampling each other in panicked pandemonium. Most chose to rush towards the door they had used to enter the venue, apparently unaware of other emergency exits. "That was the problem," Charles Hall, the Rhode Island fire chief, told reporters. "They didn't use the other three fire exits." But as the fire grew, people began smashing windows and crawling through.

Robin Petrarca, 44, who was a few feet from the door when the fire started, said: "There was nothing they could do, it went up so fast." The smoke was instantly so thick she could not see the exit. In the rush, she was pushed to the ground but made her escape.

All day yesterday the number of dead continued to rise as firemen combed through the blackened shell. The scene was a grim scar in an otherwise pristine landscape of white snow. One by one, charred bodies were pulled from the wreckage, packed into black zipper bags and loaded into waiting hearses.

"They were completely burnt. They had pieces of flesh falling off them," said Michelle Craine, waiting to hear about a missing friend. "It was the worst thing I've ever seen."

Surgeons at hospitals in the area were overwhelmed trying to treat the injured, many of them with 50 per cent burns. Others were struggling to survive from acute injuries caused by smoke inhalation.

Dr Joseph Amaral, a surgeon at Rhode Island Hospital, said: "As much as we can prepare for anything like this, the stark reality is hard to imagine. One of the most remarkable things for me is the degree of inhalation injuries everyone sustained."

Great White emerged from the Los Angeles heavy metal scene in the late Eighties. Early in their set, fireworks were lit at the back of the stage. Witnesses said that they quickly ignited the ceiling and flames rapidly spread above the crowd.

"All of a sudden I felt a lot of heat," Jack Russell, the band's lead singer, said: "I see the foam's on fire. The next thing you know the whole place is in flames. I just couldn't believe how fast it went up." The lights went out quickly too, adding to the confusion. One member of the band is among the missing. Officials said the Station had received a fresh fire-safety permit in December. But because it was so small, a sprinkler system was not fitted. Officials indicated the venue did not have a permit for pyrotechnic displays.

Officials said an investigation has started, and it is certain to focus on the absence of a permit to use fireworks on stage. "They had no business [using the fireworks]," Don Carcieri, the Rhode Island Governor, said.