Buenos Aires Kheyvis Nightclub Fire — Incident Report
Incident Report · Nightclub Fire

Buenos Aires KheyvisNightclub Fire

A structured incident summary of the 20 December 1993 fire at Kheyvis in Olivos, Buenos Aires Province, with reported figures, legal-source notes, conflicting accounts and unverified details clearly separated.

Date20 Dec 1993
LocationOlivos, Buenos Aires
Fatalities17
Injuries24 reported
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What happened

Date: 20 December 1993.

Location: Discoteca / local bailable Kheyvis / Kheyvis Kheib, Avenida del Libertador Nº 1965, Partido de Vicente López, Olivos, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.

Incident name: Argentina, Buenos Aires Kheyvis nightclub fire / Tragedia de Kheyvis / Incendio del boliche Kheyvis.

A fire broke out during a graduation party linked to Colegio La Salle. Sources report 17 young people died and 24 were injured. Several sources describe a suspected sofa or armchair ignition involving alcohol, but the authorship and exact ignition mechanism were not finally proven.

Best-supported points

Fatalities: 17 fatalities are consistently reported by the civil judgment and Argentine news and retrospective sources.

Injuries: 24 injured is the best-supported figure across La Nación, Página/12, Infobae, TN, El Día and Padres de Kheyvis. One commentary source gives 25 seriously injured, so the figure should still be handled with care.

Legal record: Later reporting and the SCBA-hosted civil judgment indicate the original criminal position changed over time, with negligent homicide and injury actions later prescribed and a final suspended sentence for false public-document information.

Review Disputed Details →

Reported scale

0
Fatalities
0
Best-supported injuries
0
Reported attendance
0
Reported capacity

Incident and aftermath

About 03:00, 20 December 1993
The civil judgment places the fire at Kheyvis/Kheyvis Kheib on Avenida del Libertador 1965 at about 03:00.
Graduation party
The event was linked to Colegio La Salle. Several sources report about 600 people were present, against a reported capacity of 150.
Casualties
Sources consistently report 17 deaths. Most opened sources report 24 injured.
2002–2008 legal outcomes
The 2002 conviction picture was later modified. Later source material records prescription of negligent homicide and injury actions and a remaining suspended sentence for falsification of a public document.

Repeated themes

👥
Overcrowding claim
Several sources report around 600 attendees in a venue said to have capacity for 150.
🚪
Exit concern
Infobae reports that victims were trapped because the venue lacked emergency exits.
📋
Licensing failures
The civil judgment records false inspection-book data about the roof construction.
🔥
Ignition disputed
The sofa/alcohol account is repeated, but final authorship is not verified.
⚠️ Evidence Note Treat the ignition account carefully. It is repeated in several sources, but the source document states it was not finally proven who was responsible or exactly how the fire started.

Conflicting or unresolved points

The items below should not be treated as settled fact unless stronger primary records are later found.

Casualty Detail
Injury total

Most opened sources report 24 injured, but one commentary source reports 25 seriously injured.

Source group A

La Nación, Página/12, Infobae, TN, El Día and Padres de Kheyvis report 24 injured.

Source B

Razón y Revolución / El Aromo reports 25 seriously injured.

Use 24 injured as the best-supported figure, with the 25 figure retained as a conflict.

Cause Detail
Who started the fire

The sofa/alcohol account appears in several sources, but responsibility was not finally proven.

Allegation

La Nación reports a victims’ lawyer’s allegation that a 20-year-old instigated it and a minor materially started it.

Caution

Padres de Kheyvis says the story is what people say happened, and Página/12 reports that a detained youth was released for lack of evidence.

The ignition story is plausible enough to record but not strong enough to state as proven.

Legal Detail
Final criminal outcome for the owner

The earlier 2002 sentence was later modified.

2002 reporting

Página/12 reported a five-year sentence and ten years’ commercial disqualification.

Later court-source position

Later Infobae reporting and the SCBA-hosted judgment state that a three-year suspended sentence for falsification remained and the commercial disqualification was set aside.

The later court-source account should be treated as the final verified legal status found in the supplied material.

Details still not settled

These points were listed as not verified in the source document.

Occupancy
Exact number of people inside beyond “about/around 600”.
Ignition
Exact mechanism and final identity of the person or people who started the fire.
Fatal injury mechanism
Whether all deaths were from burns, smoke inhalation, crushing, or a combination.
Official report
Full official fire-service investigation report.
Injured list
Full list of all injured people and injury severity.
Venue name
Whether “Kheyvis” or “Kheyvis Kheib” was the formal registered venue name.

References

The cards below list the news, magazine, website and open-source references recorded in the source document.

01
LA NACION · News article
Kheyvis: hubo serias irregularidades
9 September 1999; updated 25 June 2020
Reports serious irregularities in the criminal investigation. States that 17 young people died and 24 were injured during a Colegio La Salle end-of-course celebration. It also reports an allegation that alcohol was poured on a sofa and set alight.
Visit Source →
02
Página/12 · News article
Nueve años después, llegaron las condenas por el fuego en Kheyvis
13 September 2002
Reports 17 deaths and 24 injuries. It describes the 2002 convictions, including the owner, a municipal official and an architect, while noting appeals.
Visit Source →
03
El Día de La Plata · News article
Siete años de la tragedia en el boliche “Kheyvis”
20 December 2000
Reports that relatives demanded convictions seven years after the fire and records 17 teenagers dead and 24 injured.
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04
Página/12 · News article
“Ni siquiera le abrieron sumario”
24 January 2005
Reports on municipal-inspector accountability and says the case was split into files covering authorship, licensing responsibility and municipal inspection failures.
Visit Source →
05
Infobae / NA · News article
Kheyvis: la Corte rechazó recurso de los acusados
28 June 2005
Reports that Argentina’s Supreme Court rejected a defence filing by municipal employees. States that 17 young people died, 24 were injured and about 600 people were attending.
Visit Source →
06
Infobae · News article
Prescribió la causa por el incendio de la discoteca Kheyvis
6 February 2006
Reports that the negligent homicide and negligent injury actions were declared time-barred and lists venue irregularities, including the roof, extinguishers and window information.
Visit Source →
07
El Día de La Plata · News article
Un fallo a favor del dueño de la discoteca Kheyvis
24 February 2008
Reports that the provincial Supreme Court set aside the ten-year commercial disqualification imposed on the owner.
Visit Source →
08
Infobae · News article
El dueño de Kheyvis podrá abrir una nueva discoteca
25 February 2008
Reports that the commercial disqualification was annulled and that a three-year suspended prison sentence for falsification of a public document remained.
Visit Source →
09
Ámbito · News article
Caso Kheyvis: una indemnización que se demoró 18 años
9 June 2011
Reports a civil judgment ordering the Municipality of Vicente López to compensate victims’ families and states that about 600 people were present in a venue with capacity for 150.
Visit Source →
10
Todo Noticias · News article
A 20 años de la tragedia de Kheyvis, el dolor y recuerdo de familiares de las víctimas
21 December 2013
Retrospective report stating that 17 died and 24 were injured, that the venue capacity was exceeded, and that three people were convicted but none imprisoned.
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11
Clarín · News article
Incendio en el boliche Kheyvis: de la diversión a la tragedia, un caso que conmovió a una comunidad
2 February 2025
Restricted article found in search results. Accessible result text describes the early-morning 20 December 1993 fire and states 17 deaths and 24 injuries.
⚠️ Restricted / pointer only
Visit Source →
12
Infobae · News article
Kheyvis y Cromañón, dos tragedias en las que la historia se repitió
20 December 2025
Retrospective comparison placing Kheyvis at Avenida del Libertador 1965, Vicente López, and reporting 17 deaths and 24 serious injuries.
Visit Source →
13
Razón y Revolución / El Aromo · Magazine article
Recuerdos de un futuro innecesario
September 2006
Commentary article stating that the Olivos discotheque fire killed 17 people and seriously injured 25. Treated as a lower-priority conflicting figure.
Visit Source →
14
SCBA / Buenos Aires Province Judiciary · Judgment PDF
PIRAINO MARIA DE LAS MERCEDES Y OTRO S/ DAÑOS Y PERJUICIOS — Expte. 45540 y acumulados
Judgment after 6 February 2008; posting date not shown
Civil judgment stating that the fire occurred at about 03:00 at Kheyvis/Kheyvis Kheib, Avenida del Libertador 1965, causing 17 deaths and injuries to a larger number.
Visit Source →
15
Padres de Kheyvis · Website article
La tragedia de Kheyvis
Publication date not verified
Victims’ relatives’ site reporting 17 deaths and 24 injuries, about 600 attendees in a venue with capacity for 150, and the repeated but unproven sofa/alcohol account.
Visit Source →
16
Padres de Kheyvis · Website article
Las víctimas
Publication date not verified
Memorial page with biographical entries for victims. Useful for memorial context rather than cause analysis.
Visit Source →
17
LykensFire.com · Website index
Incident Detail
Publication date not verified
Secondary incident-index entry reporting the Kheyvis fire during a La Salle College graduation party and 17 deaths. Lower priority than Argentine judicial and news sources.
Visit Source →
18
Facebook · Open-source pointer
31 años del Incendio del boliche Kheivys
Date not verified
Search-result text states that the fire caused the deaths of 17 adolescents. Included as a pointer only, not used as primary evidence.
⚠️ Restricted / pointer only
Visit Source →
19
Facebook · Open-source pointer
20 de Diciembre de 1993. Tragedia Kheyvis…
Date not verified
Search-result text states that the fire killed 17 adolescents at a Colegio La Salle Florida graduation party. Included as a pointer only.
⚠️ Restricted / pointer only
Visit Source →
20
YouTube · Open-source pointer
Unnecessary Stories: The KHEYVIS nightclub fire
Date not verified
Search-result text describes licensing for 150 people and overcrowding with more than 600. Included as a secondary pointer only.
⚠️ Restricted / pointer only
Visit Source →
21
YouTube · Open-source pointer
Tragedy fire argentine disco Kheyvis - 1993 FOOTAGE
Date not verified
Video result concerning the 20 December 1993 Kheyvis fire. Included as media pointer only.
⚠️ Restricted / pointer only
Visit Source →

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