Over 300 Killed in Prison Fire In Honduras

Tegucigalpa, Honduras (CNN) -- More than 300 inmates were killed in a prison fire in central Honduras, officials said Wednesday, as families clamored to learn whether their loved ones were among the victims.The fire was one of the worst tragedies of its kind in decades in Latin America and focused renewed attention on the often poor conditions of prisons in the region.Authorities offered differing reports of how many prisoners died in the fire. Honduran government officials said more than 300 inmates were killed, while the National Human Rights Commission said as many as 356 inmates were unaccounted for and may have died.Forensic teams removed more than 150 bodies from the facility by Wednesday evening."Everyone ran for their lives," said one survivor who spoke briefly to local television cameras.​

Click to expand...

Pinkie said:

Later in the article, it is reported that the prison was built to house 250 inmates but held over 850. I can hardly imagine a more horrible death than burning to death in a cell.

This poor nation is reportedly neither a producer nor a consumer of illegal drugs, but is nonetheless suffering under the onslaught of them, presumably as smugglers try to pass through.

It's one of the saddest stories I have seen in a long time.

Click to expand...

COMAYAGUA, Honduras (AP) — The prisoners whose scorched bodies were carried out piece by piece Thursday morning from a charred Honduran prison had been locked inside an overcrowded penitentiary where most inmates had never been charged, let alone convicted, according to an internal Honduran government report obtained by The Associated Press.

More than half of the 856 inmates of the Comayagua farm prison north of the Central American country's capital were either awaiting trial or being held as suspected gang members, according to a report sent by the Honduran government this month to the United Nations.

A fire started by an inmate tore through the prison Tuesday night, burning and suffocating screaming men in their locked cells as rescuers desperately searched for keys. Officials confirmed 358 dead, making it the world's deadliest prison fire in a century.

Survivors told horrific tales of climbing walls to break the sheet metal roofing and escape, only to see prisoners in other cell blocks being burned alive. Inmates were found stuck to the roofing, their bodies fused to the metal.​

Click to expand...

Pinkie said:

Prisoners killed in Honduras fire had not been charged with crimes, report says | cleveland.com

Click to expand...

sharon said:

Oh Lord.. this really is horrible.

Can you imagine the suffering or the feelings of parents and siblings?

Click to expand...