ASUNCION, Paraguay, 3 August 2004 — Survivors of an inferno in a crowded supermarket said locked doors slowed their escape from the fast-spreading fire that killed at least 318 people in Paraguay’s worst disaster in more than half a century.

Hundreds more were injured, many with serious burns, after the blaze swept through the multilevel Ycua Bolanos supermarket on the outskirts of the capital, Asuncion, while it was crowded with shoppers midday Sunday.

At least 318 people were killed, Interior Minister Orlando Fiorotto announced at midday, after workers searched the charred supermarket in the morning. The Health Ministry said 276 people were injured, including 70 who were in intensive care with critical burns or breathing problems. Workers were continuing to search the site.

Officials said it was the worst tragedy in Paraguay since a failed military insurrection in 1947 left some 8,000 people dead.

Two German citizens, a 40-year-old man and a baby, were among those killed, according to the German Foreign Ministry in Berlin. The names of the two, who lived in Paraguay, were not released.

The heat of the blaze caused one floor to collapse, crushing dozens of cars in the parking lot as flames engulfed the motorists inside, police said. Badly burned bodies, some with twisted limbs, were pulled from the debris Sunday as black smoke billowed overhead. Rescuers led away dozens of children found near the store’s toy department.

“This is a moment of great anguish,” President Nicanor Duarte said as he declared three days of national mourning. Classes were also canceled in Asuncion, and people jammed hospitals and clinics to donate blood. Authorities said they had detained two owners of the supermarket for questioning about reports by some survivors that doors had been locked. A statement released by the management denied doors were locked after the fire broke out to prevent looting.

Police said they also were investigating survivor accounts the fire may have been fueled by an exploding gas canister in the food court area. Authorities said they still had not concluded what caused the blaze.

One survivor, Celeste Silva Hermosa, told Paraguayan television Channel 13 that she found her way blocked. “The door was closed,” said Silva Hermoso, adding she’s not sure how she made it out in the crush of people. “The people just kept pushing me along.”

Juan Pio Paiva, one of the detained owners, angrily denied any speculation that doors had been deliberately locked.

“The security guards confirmed that the doors weren’t closed by them,” he said, reading from a statement in which he said he “lamented” the disaster and added the building met with necessary safety standards.

Fearful of dangers of working in the still-smoldering building overnight, rescue workers and firefighters resumed digging yesterday, trying to work their way further into a crushed parking garage and food court.