464 dead, 500 injured in Paraguay supermarket inferno

A fire that raged through a supermarket crowded with weekend shoppers in Paraguay's capital has killed 275 people, Interior Minister Orlando Fiorotto has confirmed.

The toll is expected to rise with one local television station reported saying at least 340 bodies have been recovered from the blaze.

The fire -- followed by two explosions -- broke out around noon Sunday local time, and raged for seven hours before firefighters were able to put it out.

Some witnesses said victims were not able to escape the flames because the exits had been locked, possibly to avoid robberies, a claim denied by Juan Pio Paiva, the supermarket's owner.

Preliminary investigations focused on a possible short circuit and an accidental fire, officials said.

Nevertheless, Paiva said the fire could have been set intentionally.

The fire began on the first floor of the building and -- in addition to causing the fatalities -- left hundreds of people with severe burns and asphyxia.

Paraguyan President Nicanor Duarte Frutos, who visited the fire site, has asked the private sector to help the state's overwhelmed public health system.

"This is a moment of great anguish," Duarte said. according to The Associated Press.

"I've come here to provide support to the injured and the families of the deceased," he said.

Badly burned bodies could be seen as they were taken away after the fire in a scene of confusion as firefighters scrambled through smoking, charred debris.

Among the fatalities were numerous children, who had been accompanying their parents for their weekend shopping or eating in the commercial complex's restaurant.

Victim's bodies were laid out on pavement in front of a discotheque next to the three-story downtown building.

In addition to the market and restaurant, the building included offices and an underground parking garage.

Hundreds of people were inside the store when the explosions occurred, witnesses said.

Television footage showed several levels of the multi-level supermarket covered in soot, including the lower level parking garage.

Public Health Minister Julio Cesar Velazquez told reporters, "I have never seen a disaster like this. The firefighters were taking out, as best as they could, the bodies, the injured and people suffering from smoke inhalation. It's horrible."