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The BBC's Gideon Long says it is believed prisoners had set fire to mattresses
A fire in a prison in the Chilean capital Santiago has left at least 81 inmates dead, officials say.
The blaze broke out in the San Miguel prison at 0500 local time (0800 GMT), with television pictures showing smoke billowing from the building.
Hundreds of inmates were evacuated, with 14 prisoners said to have life-threatening injuries.
Reports said the fire broke out after a fight between rival gangs, who set mattresses on fire.
Health Minister Jaime Manalich said this was the deadliest incident in the history of the Chilean prison service.
Frantic relativesThe BBC's Gideon Long in Santiago says the fire is now under control but there are chaotic scenes as relatives arrive at the prison, with police trying to control the situation.
A spokesman for the state prison system told Reuters news agency: "We are trying to identify the 81 dead inmates now."
The evacuated inmates are being held in a sports ground within the prison.
Our correspondent says local media are reporting that 1,900 inmates were in the jail, although it has a capacity for only about 700.
There were reports that prison guards had initially prevented firefighters from entering the prison, which is in the south of the capital, La Tercera newspaper said.
The television pictures showed some prisoners waving their hands through the bars of the jail as relatives screamed at security forces to allow them in to help.
An investigation is under way into the cause of the blaze.
Chile has one of the highest per capita number of prisoners in Latin America.
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