A Brazilian supreme court judge ordered Monday the immediate imprisonment of four people convicted for their role in a nightclub fire that killed 242 people more than a decade ago.

The ruling overturned decisions by two lower courts in 2022 and 2023 that annulled the jail sentences, which ranged from 18 to 22 years, over apparent irregularities in the trial.

The four defendants will have one further chance to appeal at Brazil’s supreme court, which could ratify or deny judge Jose Antonio Dias Toffoli’s decision, a judiciary representative told AFP.

The 2013 fire at the nightclub in the southern town of Santa Maria started when members of a band playing that night lit flares that set fire to the ceiling.

A police investigation concluded the fire started when sparks from a flare ignited insulating material, releasing lethal fumes.

While some burned to death, many of the mostly young victims died from asphyxiation.

A probe found the venue had no functioning fire extinguishers, only two doors for evacuating people from an overcrowded dance floor, and poor emergency signage.

Two owners of the Kiss nightclub and two members of the Gurizada Fandangueira band were found guilty in December 2021 of murder and attempted murder of the victims, mostly young university students.

© AFP