Fatal jail fire 'started by inmate'

Feb 15 2012

Up to 356 people have died after a fire started by an inmate tore through a severely overcrowded prison in Honduras, officials have said.

Survivors told investigators that an unidentified inmate screamed "We will all die here!" as he lit fire to his bedding late on Tuesday night in the prison in the central town of Comayagua.

The jail housed people convicted of serious crimes such as murder and armed robbery.

The blaze spread within minutes, killing about 100 inmates in their cells as firefighters struggled to find officials who had keys, said Comayagua fire department spokesman Josue Garcia.

"We couldn't get them out because we didn't have the keys and couldn't find the guards who had them," said Mr Garcia.

Other prisoners were set free by guards but died from the flames or smoke as they tried to flee into the fields surrounding the facility, where prisoners convicted of crimes grow corn and beans on a state-run farm.

Rescuers carried shirtless, semi-conscious prisoners from the facility by their arms and legs. One hauled a victim away from the fire on their back.

A prisoner identified as Silverio Aguilar told HRN Radio that he first knew something was wrong when he heard a scream of "Fire! Fire!"

"For a while nobody listened. But after a few minutes, which seemed like an eternity, a guard appeared with keys and let us out," he said. There had been 60 prisoners packed into his cell, he said.

Some 475 people escaped and 356 are missing and presumed dead, said Hector Ivan Mejia, a spokesman for the Honduras Security Ministry. He said 21 people had been injured.