12:03pm UK, Friday December 31, 2004

At least 175 people are dead and 619 injured after fire swept through a nightclub in Argentina.     

The blaze broke out during a concert by a rock band in Buenos Aires.

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A clubber is helped from the venue

Witnesses have said the fire started when a tossed flare set a curtain alight.   

Television pictures showed the bodies of some youngsters curled up on the sidewalk as bystanders and concertgoers carried people out of the smouldering building.   

"People were pushing and jumping over each other trying to get out," said concertgoer Jose Maria Godoy.   

"It was like a human wave. As people fell down running for the door, others just simply ran over them or pushed them down."   

Witnesses described how the club quickly filled with smoke.  

One teenager said: "Suddenly, we couldn't see anything because of the smoke and the fire spread to the stage area."  

It is thought up to 2,000 teenagers were in the venue at the time to see the band Los Callejeros and celebrate the end of the school year.   

Other reports say twice that number were in the club.