The death toll from a devastating shopping district fire in the Peruvian capital has risen to 240, with 20 people listed as missing and 160 injured, civil defense authorities announced this evening.
Civil defense official Mr Ruben Ibanez said this afternoon authorities were working to identify the bodies recovered.
He said rescue workers were using a video camera to search through the debris for additional bodies.
The fire began late last night in a store that was illegally selling home-made fireworks for New Year's celebrations after vendors tested some of the wares.
It quickly spread through a four-block area of historic downtown Lima that was packed with firework vendors and customers.
Peru's President Alejandro Toledo described the fire as a "a terrible disaster" when he visited the scene earlier today.
In an official statement last night Mr Toledo declared two days of national mourning for the blaze victims starting today.
Most of the victims were burnt to death or died from smoke inhalation, according to officials who said the tragedy was one of the deadliest ever to strike the city.
Firefighters were hampered by difficulty getting water from the street pumps, a lack of electricity and a wall of thick black smoke that blanketed the area as well as crowds of onlookers who blocked the narrow streets. They managed to control the blaze after several hours.
A live television broadcast showed scorched bodies piled on top of each other. The dead included teenagers and children.
AFP