Argentina began the New Year on a grim note as families identified and prepared for the burial of 175 victims of a fire in a Buenos Aires rock club, including children and babies who might have died in a makeshift nursery in the bathroom.

New Years' celebrations were muted yesterday as the government began handing over bodies to families with the order that they be buried and not cremated due to the criminal investigation into one of Argentina's worst disasters.

The blaze during a concert on Thursday night started when concert-goers launched a flare, which ignited foam on the ceiling and sent some 4,000 mostly teenage fans scrambling for the exits amid falling debris and thick smoke. Four of the six doors were locked, officials said.

Police detained the owner of the Cromagnon Republic club on Friday to question him about overcrowding, the use of flammable materials and locking the exit doors to stop people from entering without paying. The club had a permit for 1,100 spectators.

Officials are also looking into witness statements which said the club had a nursery in the women's bathroom where parents left children while they enjoyed the concert.

"How could they permit such a thing?" Marcelo Calderon asked as he waited outside the morgue for the bodies of his brother and nephew.

Police said witnesses had also helped them to identify three youths who might have launched the flare, but it was not known if they were among the victims.

The government decreed three days of mourning, closed nightclubs in the capital for the New Year and canceled all concerts.

In the sweltering summer heat yesterday, dozens of families filed into two morgues to identify and recover the bodies of sons and daughters, brothers and sisters. Dozens of the dead and injured have not yet been identified because many of the teenagers didn't carry identification.

Marcelo Eduardo Mendieta said he took turns with relatives on New Year's Day at the doors of the morgue waiting for the body of his brother, a club employee.

At the club in the gritty working-class district of Once Argentines, people of all ages left flowers, pictures and candles.

Hayde Rovellia, an orderly at the closest hospital to the club, said these had been the worst days in her 20 years at the hospital.

For some, the tragedy was no surprise. The underground rock band playing at Cromagnon, Callejeros, had a loyal following of adolescents who often set off fireworks at their concerts.

Moments before the concert began, the lead singer appealed to the crowd to not launch any flares because of the fire hazard. He and other band members lost family and friends in the blaze.