TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras Feb. 15 (Xinhua) – Honduran President Porfirio Lobo on Wednesday ordered a full investigation into a prison fire that killed at least 350 inmates on Tuesday night and suspended all officials at the prison.
In a national address broadcast live on radio and television, Lobo expressed his condolences to the relatives of the victims, saying he had ordered an immediate in-depth investigation into the fire in Comayagua prison in central Honduras.
“My heart is with you and I want to express my most profound sentiment of solidarity to the families who are grieving over this inconsolable loss,” said Lobo in the address. He vowed to take “a full investigation to determine what caused this regrettable and unacceptable tragedy and identify those responsible.”
Lobo said he had suspended all relevant local and national officials in charge to guarantee a transparent investigation. Honduran Human Rights Commissioner Ramon Custodio said a total of 356 people had either been confirmed dead or missing in the fire. There are fears the death toll could climb above 400 as local officials continue to search for bodies in what’s becoming one of the worst prison fires in the country.
Daniel Orellana, head of Honduras’ prison system, cited an ignited mattress and a short circuit in the electrical system as possible causes of the fire. Prison sources told local media that the fire was caused by a riot by several gang members in the prison, which was part of a plot to kill two inmates from a rival gang.
The Comayagua prison holds a large group of convicted Mara 18 gang members that have for years terrorized large parts of Central America with brutality. Firefighters and rescue workers at the scene had been hampered for hours by the fast spreading fire before they managed to get in and save those locked up in cells. Local fire department spokesman Josue Garcia said the guard with keys to the cells was not available at the time.
Local fire department official Col. Leonel Silva said the prison was “filled with charred bodies” when the fire was finally put out, with many inmates burnt or suffocated in their cells. As the news of the deadly fire continued to spread in the local community, some 2,000 grieving relatives of the inmates, anxious to find out what had happened to their family members, gathered and tried to break barricades of soldiers and police at the prison.
Their anxiety and grievance turned to anger when they were banned from entering the prison to search for their loved ones. The prison police fired shots into air, stirring panic and confrontation in the otherwise peaceful small town.
Badly burned inmates were taken to hospitals and clinics for treatment early Wednesday. A doctor working at nearby Santa Teresa Hospital said many of the victims were quite young, and the hospital had already organized an expert team to treat them. The prison, with a capacity to house 400, held over 800 prisoners at the time of the fire, a significant overload that’s commonly seen in the country’s prisons.
El Salvador’s President Mauricio Funes sent his condolences to the Honduran people while Jose Miguel Insulza, head of the Organization of American States, said he was sending a special delegation to Honduras to investigate the tragic event. Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega said he was “profoundly saddened” over the incident. “We are very sorry over this terrible tragedy,” Ortega said, adding that his country is ready to offer help. (Xinhua)
