A survivor of the Stardust disaster has described first seeing the fire like "looking into hell".

Christine Carr was 16-years-old at the time of the blaze and was giving evidence today at the inquests into the 48 people who died in the 1981 nightclub blaze.

She told the Dublin District Coroner' Court how she saw a bouncer running from the main lobby into the partitioned off area known as the west alcove and how the curtain then went up. She described seeing a "all of fire" and said it was like "looking into hell, it was just black".

She said the flames then went on the ceiling. "It was like a rainbow of colours," she said, "greens, yellows, and blues … It was mesmerising".

Ms Carr described how she then made her way to the main entrance and told of the crush in the lobby there. She said she could see the two doors were closed and recalled how people were banging on the doors.

"'Open the doors,' that's all you could hear," she said.

Looking behind her, she could see the smoke was drawing in. Ms Carr said it was like "breathing in tyres".

"It was hot, it was like ash."

Such was the volume of people in the lobby, she said the only thing she could move was her head. She said her mouth was open, her eyes rolling and remembers her last thoughts, "Mammy, Daddy, I'm going to die."

"I was taking my last breath. I don't even know how I got out," she told the court.

She said her next memory was being on all fours outside on the tarmac, gulping for air, trying to breathe.

Earlier, the court heard how she was initially refused entry on the night and then rejoined the back of the queue. She then got inside after a bouncer had told her to tell a colleague that she was 20 years old.

The inquests also heard today from Gerard Ward who spoke about the efforts that were made by those who made it out to try help the people trapped inside.

He recalled the screaming outside as people tried to smash and pull the bars off the windows, saying he saw outstretched arms coming out through the glass.

He told the court when he was standing outside exit 4, he saw someone falling inside the doors. It was a girl, and no one could reach her he said. He told the court today someone then said that she was "gone".

Earlier, he told the inquests that he had been refused twice on the night by bouncers before being let in. He was 18 years old at the time.

He described a "whoosh" of fire travelling across the ceiling and said he could feel intense heat.

The court heard how he headed for exit number 4 after he saw the queue for exit 5 wasn’t moving.

He said it felt like "an eternity" before he made it outside. He said the lights had gone out at that stage and that he was inhaling smoke.

Catherine Tyrell also spoke about the attempts to help those inside and said that cars were 'ramming' in an effort to get people out who were trapped in the building.

Eighteen years old at the time, today she described how she saw a man, who "looked like a barman", pulling up the curtain in the west alcove. She said the fire which at that stage was "little" then went straight up, with the flames hitting the ceiling.

She said everyone was in a panic and running around.

She told the court how she escaped through exit four.

Asked if she had any difficulty making it out, she said, "there was pushing and shoving… you couldn’t breathe".

Earlier, the inquests heard from Raymond English who was 17 years old at the time of the fire and who escaped out of an emergency exit.

He asked by Simon Mills, SC, acting for the coroner if he had difficulty opening the doors.

"As far as I remember, no," he said.

He also said he didn’t remember seeing a padlock or chains on the bars.

There were questions today whether he made it out exit 4 or exit 5, with counsel representing families of the victims reading aloud accounts from those who experienced serious difficulties getting out through exit 5.

Michael O Higgins, SC, also said management of the club have accepted that all the doors had locks and chains on them.