Smoke poured from the subway after the fire started in a station at about 1000 local time (0100GMT)

Emergency workers who rushed to the scene needed breathing apparatus to reach the casualties

Many people had been trapped below ground

The rescue effort soon turned into a search for bodies

Witnesses said a man tried to light a carton of liquid which exploded and started the fire inside the station

As the death toll rose throughout the afternoon, the horror of the tragedy struck home