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The Americas Brazil's nightclub fire
美洲巴西夜總會大火
A night from hell
地獄般的一夜
Better fire prevention should be the memorial
為防止悲劇再度上演，巴西應當完善防火措施
......Unbearable loss......
......生命中無法承受之失......
BRAZIL was supposed to be celebrating this week:
本周，巴西本應是一個歡慶的海洋：
the first of the stadiums for next year's football World Cup staged a debut match and a party was planned to mark 500 days till kick-off.
首個為2014年巴西世界杯而專門建造的體育場將舉行處女賽，而慶祝世界杯500天倒計時的狂歡也在籌備當中。
Instead the country is in mourning, the party cancelled.
恰恰相反，整個巴西現在陷入沉痛的悲哀之中，狂歡也取消了。
Early on January 27th a fire in a nightclub, Kiss, in Santa Maria, a university town in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, killed 235 people, mainly students.
1月27日的早些時候，隸屬巴西南部的南里奧格蘭德州的大學城——圣瑪麗亞市中心一家名為“吻”的夜總會發生火災，導致235人死亡，其中大部分為學生。
Most of the more than 100 injured are in a critical condition.
受傷人數超過100人，其中大部分傷勢危急。
President Dilma Rousseff, visibly upset, rushed back from a summit in Chile and declared three days of national mourning.
正在智利參加峰會的迪爾馬·羅塞夫總統明顯非常焦慮，她迅速返回巴西，并宣布為遇害者舉行為期三天的全國哀悼。
A catalogue of negligence caused Brazil's most lethal fire for more than 50 years.
一連串的疏忽導致了此次巴西50多年來最致命的一場火災。
It was started by a spark from a flare lit by the band performing in the early hours.
火災最初是由在下半夜演奏的樂隊發射閃光信號引起的，
That set light to soundproofing foam on the ceiling.
煙花的火花引燃了屋頂的隔音泡沫材料，
Flames spread fast, releasing toxic fumes and short-circuiting the power supply, casting the venue into darkness.
大火迅速蔓延，釋放出有毒氣體，導致電路短路，整個夜總會之后陷入一片黑暗。
Security guards stopped the first to flee, apparently believing they were trying to bunk without paying : in Brazil, club patrons run up tabs and pay on the way out.
保安阻擋了第一批逃生出來的人的去路，顯然他們認為這些人是想逃票：在巴西，夜總會的顧客先消費，然后在離開時付賬。
Police say around 1,000 people were in the club, whose capacity was 690, and that there were no working fire escapes.
警方表示，這家夜總會的客容量為690人，而當時卻有1000左右的人在里面，此外，夜總會的火災安全出口也無法使用。
Most of the deaths were by crushing or asphyxiation.
大多數的死亡由踩踏或者窒息所致。
Dozens of bodies were found in the bathrooms, presumably mistaken for exits in the panic.
衛生間里遍布尸體，大概是人們在慌亂之中錯把這里當做出口。
The crush at the door was so severe that firefighters and bystanders had to tear down a wall to get in.
門口的踩踏情況十分嚴重，因此消防員和圍觀群眾不得不拆除一面墻，才得以進入夜總會救人。
At least Brazilians could take pride in the emergency response.
盡管如此，巴西人至少能夠為此次火災中救援人員的快速反應感到些許欣慰。
Firefighters arrived quickly.
消防隊員迅速抵達現場。
The armed forces airlifted some of the injured to other cities.
軍方出動飛機將一部分傷者轉移到其他城市。
Hospitals around the country sent specialist equipment, such as respirators : many survivors have damaged lungs.
全國的醫院向圣瑪麗亞市運送了呼吸器和其他專門設備：許多幸存者肺部受到嚴重損傷。
Skin banks in Montevideo and Buenos Aires as well as in Recife and San Paulo, sent supplies for about 20 victims with severe burns.
位于蒙得維的亞、布宜諾斯艾利斯、累西腓和圣保羅的皮膚庫也向20名左右嚴重燒傷的受害者提供移植需要的皮膚。
The buck-passing has already started.
相關方面已經開始相互推諉責任。
The public prosecutor said there was " clear evidence" that the club should not have been open : its public-health licence and fire-safety plan had expired.
公訴人表示，有“明顯證據”顯示，這家夜總會當時不具有營業資格：它的公共衛生許可證和消防安全許可證已經過期。
The mayor blamed the fire brigade ; it replied that since the club had applied for an extension, it could keep operating.
市長則歸咎于消防隊，而消防隊做出回應，稱如果該夜總會已經申請了延期，就能夠正常營業。
Investigators want to know how a venue apparently lacking even basic safety precautions had been licensed in the first place.
火災調查員不明白的是，該夜總會連最基本的安全保護措施都沒有，最初的營業執照是如何取得的。
The two owners, and two members of the band whose pyrotechnics started the blaze, have been arrested (one of the owners is in hospital after trying to commit suicide).
夜總會的兩名股東，以及燃放煙火導致火災的兩名樂隊成員，都已被逮捕（其中一名股東在自殺未遂后被送往醫院）。
Similar tragedies elsewhere have led to tougher fire-safety laws.
其他地方在發生類似悲劇后，都出臺了更加嚴格的火災安全法案。
After the Cromanon nightclub fire in Buenos Aires in 2004, which killed 194, the city's venues were closed until they passed new inspections.
2004年，位于布宜諾斯艾利斯的“克羅瑪格農共和國”夜總會發生火災，導致194人死亡。當局關閉了市內所有夜總會，只有通過新一輪的安全檢查才能繼續營業。
In the United States many states mandated sprinklers in large new venues and banned indoor pyrotechnics after a nightclub fire in Rhode Island in 2003.
在美國，自2003年羅德島夜總會大火之后，許多州就強制大型新建夜總會安裝噴水滅火裝置，并嚴禁室內使用煙火。
In Brazil each state sets its own rules.
在巴西，各州規定不盡相同。
Some governors have said they will rewrite theirs.
有一些州長表示他們將會改寫本州規定。
A proposal from 2007 to set minimum national standards has idled in Congress; its author now hopes to push it through.
2007年，有人提議設定最低國家標準，然而這一提案被國會擱置，現在它的起草者希望能借此機會推動提案的通過。
Tougher laws will be little use without enforcement, which is the job of mayors.
如果做不到嚴格執法，法律就是一紙空文，而執行則是市長的職責。
Brazilian businesses are often unregistered, partly to avoid tax but also because much of the paperwork is pointlessly burdensome.
巴西許多企業往往沒有進行注冊，部分原因是為了逃避沉重的稅收，企業注冊需要的文件大多毫無意義十分麻煩也是原因之一。
Those that do register face delays and sometimes requests for bribes.
那些確實注冊了的企業，也要面對各種審批延遲的情況，有時還會被索賄。
Random checks on 29 nightclubs in San Paulo this week found nine were operating without licences ;
本周對圣保羅29家夜總會進行的隨機檢查發現，其中有9家都屬于無照經營，
owners retorted that they had applied in good time but been left waiting, sometimes for years.
這些夜總會的業主反駁說，他們早早地就進行申請了，但是一直等不到反饋消息，有時一等就是好幾年。
Eight others appeared not to be registered at all.
其中還有8家似乎根本就沒有進行注冊。
In a meeting with mayors on January 28th Ms Rousseff asked for their help.
2月28日，羅塞夫總統與各市長舉行會談，她呼吁市長們都參與進來。
" We have to make sure that tragedies like this are never repeated," she said.
她說：“我們必須確保此類悲劇將不會重演。”
Perhaps Brazil is now ready to do what that would take.
也許，也許巴西現在已經整裝待發，準備行動了。
