Sao Paulo building fire likely caused by domestic accident: official

BRASILIA, May 2 (Xinhua) -- A domestic accident caused by the explosion of a gas cylinder or a pressure cooker is the main hypothesis for the cause of a massive fire, which destroyed an abandoned office building in downtown Sao Paulo on Tuesday.

Sao Paulo's secretary of public security, Magino Alves, said on Wednesday that "the first line of investigation is that it was probably a domestic accident... the explosion of a (gas) bottle or a pressure cooker."

Two gas cylinders were found among the rubble and were sent for investigation to the Sao Paulo Criminology Institute.

The hypothesis of a domestic accident, likely as a consequence of a fight between a couple, coincides with statements from residents of the fifth floor of the building, where the fire began.

The survivors said they heard a couple fighting on the fifth floor followed by an explosion in the home.

Some 44 people are confirmed as missing, while one body has been found.

According to the Sao Paulo town hall, the building was home to 372 people, mostly families with low incomes.

The fire began around 1:30 a.m. in the morning on May 1, before spreading rapidly, damaging the building so badly it collapsed around 3:00 a.m.

The building had previously been a headquarters for the federal police in Sao Paulo along the Rio Branco avenue. Enditem