Paraguay toils to name fire dead

Some families are still desperately waiting for news

Paraguayan authorities say they may never identify all the bodies from Sunday's fire at a shopping centre that killed more than 420 people.

Some 100 corpses are unrecognisable and officials are urging relatives to provide DNA samples and dental records to aid identification.

An inquiry is under way into the fire, believed caused by a gas blast.

Amid the grief, one family has told how a father managed to push his baby to safety in the last act of his life.

A police officer rescued four-month-old Enzo Daniel Bobadilla from the smouldering debris.

It has now emerged that Enzo's father pushed his son through a broken window as people were trying to flee the fire but was unable to escape himself.

Baby Enzo with the police officer who rescued him

Enzo is reported to be fine but his mother is in a critical condition in hospital.

The overall number of dead is still not clear. The attorney general's office says 427 people are confirmed dead while other departments speak of up to 464 killed. Around 500 people were injured.

Paraguay's Attorney General Oscar Latorre has said the chances of identifying all the victims are slim.

Forensic experts, including scientists from Chile, Brazil, and Argentina, are assisting what Mr Latorre called the "very difficult task" of identifying bodies.

Foreign experts, including FBI agents, are also helping to examine the fire scene.

The owners of the complex and four security staff are facing manslaughter charges after survivors claimed the doors were locked to prevent people leaving without paying.

The accused all deny the allegations.

Interior Minister Orlando Fiorott said on Wednesday that evidence indicated a gas leak started the fire.

"The investigations clearly point towards a gas leak and the rapid combustion of the merchandise," Mr Fiorott was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

'Overwhelmed'

Paraguay has been witnessing funeral after funeral for those victims who have been identified.

"We're just overwhelmed," one cemetery worker told AP.

"Nothing like this has ever happened and we just weren't prepared."

For other families, the desperate wait for news continues.

Maria Ines Florentin appealed for help in finding her 19-year-old sister.

"I've been to the hospitals, to the morgue and she's not on any list and I can't find her anywhere," she said.