ASUNCION, Paraguay, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Paraguayan authorities have arrested the owners of a supermarket that caught on fire over the weekend, killing almost 300 people and injuring another 300.
ABC Color newspaper reported Monday that Juan Paiva and his son Daniel were taken into custody on charges of negligible homicide. According to eyewitness testimony, the doors to the Asuncion supermarket were locked when the blaze broke out Sunday, as the owners did not want customers to leave without paying.
Hundreds of survivors were treated for burns and smoke inhalation.
Investigators said the fire was likely sparked by the explosion of gas canisters, either inside the supermarket or in the building's underground parking lot.
Paraguayan President Nicanor Duarte Frutos visited the site of the fire, which took firefighters seven hours to extinguish.
