ARGENTINA: Anniversary Of Cromanon Nightclub Fire

Memorial at the Cromanon nightclub

Argentina’s worst made-man disaster, the Cromañón nightclub fire, in which 194 children and young adults lost their lives and another 600 were injured.

Another 15 among the over 2,600 survivors have committed suicide in the ten years since the tragedy.

Republica Cromañón owner, Omar Chabán reportedly asked patrons the night in question not to use fireworks, but in an effort to keep kids from sneaking in, left four of the six emergency doors chained shut. After serving part of a 20-year sentence, he recently died while out on appeal. All six member of Callejeros, the band that was playing that night, and who also lost a combined total 14 family members that night, are serving seven year sentences.

While few responsible for the institutional corruption that led to severe oversights of safety code saw jailtime, Buenos Aires has made improvements in building safety inspections since the tragedy.