One of the many university students who perished in Sunday's horrific nightclub fire in Santa Maria, Brazil, managed to post one last Facebook status update asking her friends for help, before succumbing to the inferno.

"Fire at KISS help," wrote 20-year-old Michele Cardoso, a medical student who was at the Boate Kiss nightclub along with her sister Clarissa, her boyfriend João Paulo Pozzobon, and dozens of local undergrads from the Federal University of Santa Maria.

The post was published to her Facebook page some 50 minutes after the fire was reportedly ignited. By dawn, she, her sister, her boyfriend, and over 230 others would be listed among the dead.

"I never imagined that it was serious when I first saw her asking for help on Facebook in the early hours, until I woke up with a message from my mum telling me what had happened," one of Michele's friends wrote on her wall.

According to local authorities, the soundproofing foam in the nightclub's ceiling was ignited by fireworks set off by the live entertainment.

Many of the victims died of smoke inhalation inside the club's bathrooms, where investigators believe patrons ended up after mistaking them for exits.

Three people have been arrested in connection with the fire, including one of the club's owners and the band's lead singer. Early reports claimed the club had its safety documents in order, but new testimony suggests that might not be the case.

[image via Facebook via R7, Globo]