Protests in Argentina over blaze

There have been delays identifying victims' remains

There have been angry scenes outside a Buenos Aires morgue as families demanded the return of the bodies of victims of a nightclub fire.

The death toll from Thursday night's blaze is now 177. About 50 people remain in intensive care in hospital.

Burials have begun, but problems identifying some victims and mandatory autopsies mean many relatives are still waiting for remains to be returned.

The government says the tragedy was the worst in Argentina's history.

Investigators believe the fire started when a group of youths launched a flare into the Cromagnon club's ceiling during a concert, triggering a stampede.

But the government says the accident was made worse by overcrowding and because some emergency exits had been locked to prevent people getting in free.

'Never again'

About 1,000 people marched from the nightclub to the town hall via the morgue on Saturday to demand that those responsible for the fire be punished and that safety regulations be tightened.

"We have to ensure this never happens again," said Jorge Viegas Mendes, whose 18-year-old son Cristian died in the blaze, quoted by AP news agency.

Some placards accused both the nightclub owners and local government of being "Killers", and others read "Corruption killed them", La Nacion newspaper reported.

Weary relatives, who have been waiting outside the morgue, also said it had taken too long to identify and claim the remains of victims - many of whom were teenagers.

Some relatives scuffled with police, reports said.

The police have appealed for more survivors of the fire to come forward.

They said witnesses had helped them identify the youths who may have launched the flare, and say they are also looking into witnesses' allegations that young children were left in a makeshift creche in the women's toilets.

The club owner, Omar Chaban, has been detained for questioning and police are seeking his three business partners.

Mayor Anibal Ibarra has declared three days of mourning and has also ordered the closure of all nightclubs in the city while safety measures are reconsidered.

Flare 'warnings'

Outside the nightclub, mourners laid flowers and candles among the training shoes and backpacks left behind by the victims.

Friends and relatives of the dead have congregated outside the club

Witnesses have confirmed that there were strong warnings not to let off flares before the accident.

Club staff searched concert-goers on the door, one young woman who lost her husband in the fire told AFP news agency.

"They looked in bags, in shoes, even in our hair. They frisked me from head to toe," she said.

"Before the concert, a staff member got on stage and talked for at least 15 minutes to say that flares must not be set off," survivor Laly Reches said.

Between 2,000 and 4,000 people are thought to have been packed into the nightclub - licensed to hold 1,300.