The death toll from a supermarket blaze in Paraguay has jumped to 409 with officials saying a guard was ordered to lock exits during the fire, apparently to stop people from leaving without paying.
The state prosecutor's office today said another 130 people were reported missing in Sunday's fire and 454 people were injured. An even higher death toll was reported earlier Tuesday, but some names were found to be repeated.
The main cemetery in this normally sleepy capital prepared collective graves to fit whole families who died together within minutes. The government sent extra supplies of cement and bricks to meet the demand for graves.
A judge questioned the owner of Ycua Bolanos, his son and four guards on whether the doors had been locked immediately after the fire broke out to prevent people from fleeing with merchandise.
He was due to decide later tonight whether to bring manslaughter charges, as prosecutors have requested. If convicted, they could be sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The supermarket owner has denied that they ordered the doors closed.
Officials say a gas explosion near the food court caused the blaze that swept through the packed supermarket in a working-class neighbourhood on the outskirts of the capital, packed with Sunday shoppers.
"Early evidence suggests that it was a regrettable accident made worse by a later decision to close up the building. This caused the catastrophic consequences," Vice President Luis Castiglioni told reporters.
Many survivors said the doors were locked, and in one case welded shut. State prosecutor Edgar Sanchez said one of the guards had said he received orders to close the doors, but did not know who had given them.
"The guard ... said in his statement that he received the order by radio to close the doors and this he did," Sanchez said.
Paraguay, a country of 6 million, called the fire its worst tragedy since a 1930s war with Bolivia that killed thousands.